Iraq Shuts Al-Jazeera Baghdad Office for a Month
08-07-2004, 08:56 AM
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Iraq Shuts Al-Jazeera Baghdad Office for a Month
It's about damn time they gave Al-Jazeera a timeout even though a month isn't long enough IMHO. I wish we could do the same in regard to the biased melarky that spews from some of our major news agencies.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...q_aljazeera_dc
On the other side...
"balanced way" my ***. 
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...q_aljazeera_dc
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, confirming the decision at a news conference, said a commission had been monitoring Al Jazeera for the past four weeks to see whether it was inciting violence and hatred, and that the decision had been taken "to protect the people of Iraq...
...Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said this week that Arabic satellite channels were encouraging kidnappings by showing images of hostages threatened with executions....
...Another government official at the press conference said the station had "encouraged criminals and gangsters" in Iraq.
...Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said this week that Arabic satellite channels were encouraging kidnappings by showing images of hostages threatened with executions....
...Another government official at the press conference said the station had "encouraged criminals and gangsters" in Iraq.
It's regrettable and we believe it's not justifiable," Al Jazeera spokesman Jihad Ballout said. "This latest decision runs contrary to all the promises made by Iraqi authorities concerning freedom of expression and freedom of the press...
...We are not a political organization that is for or against anybody. We display what happens on the ground as objectively as possible and in a balanced way," he said.
...We are not a political organization that is for or against anybody. We display what happens on the ground as objectively as possible and in a balanced way," he said.
08-07-2004, 03:52 PM
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I would have voted for carpet bombing of the HQ while it was open for business, then have U.S contractors rebuild & replace it with Fox News Iraq.
08-07-2004, 06:44 PM
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Freedom of speech is great, I'm glad to have it...but it's definitely something that needs to be rethought in wartime. A barrage of media attacks can ruin almost any war effort, whether the war happens to be going well or not. Sure, it's easy to say "We should all debate this openly and share our opinions..." but the fact is, there are some times when that serves no purpose other than to cast doubt on a job that's already tough enough. That seems to be what was happening in Iraq, and I'm going with Salty and saying it was the right move.
08-07-2004, 08:52 PM
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Originally Posted by subaruguru
Freedom of speech is great, I'm glad to have it...but it's definitely something that needs to be rethought in wartime. A barrage of media attacks can ruin almost any war effort, whether the war happens to be going well or not. Sure, it's easy to say "We should all debate this openly and share our opinions..." but the fact is, there are some times when that serves no purpose other than to cast doubt on a job that's already tough enough. That seems to be what was happening in Iraq, and I'm going with Salty and saying it was the right move.
08-07-2004, 10:02 PM
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Originally Posted by subaruguru
Freedom of speech is great, I'm glad to have it...but it's definitely something that needs to be rethought in wartime. A barrage of media attacks can ruin almost any war effort, whether the war happens to be going well or not. Sure, it's easy to say "We should all debate this openly and share our opinions..." but the fact is, there are some times when that serves no purpose other than to cast doubt on a job that's already tough enough. That seems to be what was happening in Iraq, and I'm going with Salty and saying it was the right move.
I have an issue with censorship no matter when it happens (during war or peace). I see your point of view and i feel it is still unjust to censor during war. Here is my simple reasoning, if your war is just it is just no matter what counter points are brought up. If you have proper leadership then by all means the leadership skills of those in power will negate and renforce the reasons for war. censorship is a cop out for the weak, be it weak in the leadership dept or weak in the moral standing dept.
IT IS NOT GOOD ANYWAYS YOU SLICE IT
08-07-2004, 11:42 PM
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Well, I do think free speech is important also, and of course it's not a good thing when we're considering censorship. But I don't think free speech is so important that we can't weigh it against other things, in this case a peaceful Iraq. While it's easy to say that a well justified war with good leadership would be beyond criticism, in reality the nature of wars makes them very easy to undermine once the fighting has begun. Wars are stressful, and even the most just wars produce some pretty horrific pictures and cost lives. If those go up every day on websites and newspapers around the world, even a war that almost everyone thought was a good idea will start to look bad. That's one of the reasons WWII was so heavily censored in the US, and even today I don't think you'll find too many people who will claim that fighting hitler and the japanese imperialists was unjust.
With what's going on in Iraq, I think people should really focus on the possible results. If this war against terrorist-fundamentalists in Iraq isn't won, there will be hell to pay for Americans, Iraqis, and everyone else interested in the middle east (that means everybody). Considered in that light, I think it would be a mistake to be too committed to unlimited rights to speech. Sure, it's important, but it's not so important that we should risk an unbearable future for literally hundreds of millions of people.
With what's going on in Iraq, I think people should really focus on the possible results. If this war against terrorist-fundamentalists in Iraq isn't won, there will be hell to pay for Americans, Iraqis, and everyone else interested in the middle east (that means everybody). Considered in that light, I think it would be a mistake to be too committed to unlimited rights to speech. Sure, it's important, but it's not so important that we should risk an unbearable future for literally hundreds of millions of people.
08-08-2004, 09:45 AM
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Originally Posted by dr3d1zzl3
I have an issue with censorship no matter when it happens (during war or peace). I see your point of view and i feel it is still unjust to censor during war. Here is my simple reasoning, if your war is just it is just no matter what counter points are brought up. If you have proper leadership then by all means the leadership skills of those in power will negate and renforce the reasons for war. censorship is a cop out for the weak, be it weak in the leadership dept or weak in the moral standing dept.
IT IS NOT GOOD ANYWAYS YOU SLICE IT
IT IS NOT GOOD ANYWAYS YOU SLICE IT
It's been 24 hours and I haven't seen any anti-US propaganda from you.
08-08-2004, 12:47 PM
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Originally Posted by HellaDumb
Shouldn't you be posting a link of more collateral damage about now?
It's been 24 hours and I haven't seen any anti-US propaganda from you.
It's been 24 hours and I haven't seen any anti-US propaganda from you.
If anything i am more pro america then you ever will be mr sheeple.
08-09-2004, 01:23 PM
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Originally Posted by dr3d1zzl3
If anything i am more pro america then you ever will be mr sheeple.
Baahhahahah.... is all I have to say to your sheeple comment.
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