I could have used this link yesterday.

/smacks head

no, only news sources that take an anti-American stance are legitimate.

hasn't fark taught us anything?

Is this from the no-shiat-sherlock News department?

Examples?

Oh comeon, Just look at Totalfark for the links to plenty of places farkers submit. Anyone remember when farkers were linking to The Tehran Times as "proof" we were smuggling in WMD to "discover"?

"New film about Bush administration shows that Michael Moore is an asshat." "film about the film at 11."

During the documentary, Hassan Ibrahim, a BBC-trained journalist, proved deeply skeptical of the United States and brushed off objections to showing footage of slain civilians. "Of course we will get grief from the Americans for showing these pictures because we will be inciting rebellion and we will be basically instigating anti-American sentiment," Ibrahim said. "I am sorry, they can't have their cake and eat it. I mean, yeah, OK, you are the most powerful nation on Earth, I agree. You can defeat everyone, I agree. You can crush everyone, I agree. But don't ask us to love it as well."

I saw this guy (Ibrahim) on the Daily Show last night. He's got some clear opinions, and whatever, but I couldn't help noticing his size: he's friggin' huge. He's like Dom DeLuise fat. He's Louis Anderson fat. Look, he's fatter than Michael Moore, ok? (oh, shhhh. You know I had to do it!)

And he's got the nerve to use a food-related cliche. Hah!



How can you be taken seriously as a journalist in war-torn nations, when there are people eating rubble and dirt, when you look like Hassan the Hutt?

I guess DoubleSpeak is the same in every language.

What a nauseating puff piece. Author makes Al-Jazeera sound like the Saturday Evening Post.

Give me a break. These people are the ideological mouthpiece for jihad. So, you're a bloodthirsty killer and you've just committed an act of unspeakably brutal murder... what do you do? Why, call your publicist and get some exposure on Jihad TV, of course.

Murdoch's FOX and Al Jazeera should merge. And make Baghdad Bob the anchor.

Has anyone commenting here actually seen the movie? I haven't, but in all the reviews I've seen and heard it sounds like a pretty "fair and balanced" depiction of their news organization. How you feel about that news organization is up to you, of course, but the film (reportedly) doesn't try to put any kind of spin on it. In other words, the film reports, you decide.

Al Jazeera's Fair and Balanced, too?

Fox News, Fair and Ballahnced

Jacksblack My sentiments exactly. That gray bed sheet he was wearing as a vest on TDS last night accentuated his jabaesque physique.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-control11f.html


CONTROL ROOM / *** (Not rated)

June 11, 2004

Magnolia Pictures presents a documentary written and directed by Jehane Noujaim. Running time: 84 minutes. No MPAA rating.




BY ROGER EBERT


The final film I saw at Cannes 2004 came from Egypt and contained a surprise. It was "Alexandrie ... New York," by the veteran director Youssef Chahine, and it told the autobiographical story of an Egyptian who comes to America in 1950 to study at the Pasadena Playhouse, and returns again in 1975 and 2000. There is a lot more to it than that, but what struck me was when the student joined his classmates in singing "God Bless America" at the graduation. I hadn't heard that in an American film since "The Deer Hunter" in 1978.

The character in 1950, and apparently the 78-year-old Egyptian who told his story, loved America. I thought of them as I watched "Control Room," an enlightening documentary about how the U.S. networks and the Arab satellite news channel Al Jazeera covered the early days of the war in Iraq. If Americans are familiar with Al Jazeera at all, it is because, as Donald Rumsfeld charges in the film, it is a source of anti-American propaganda, "willing to lie to the world to make their case."

Yet there is an extraordinary moment in the film when Samir Khader, an engaging and articulate producer for Al Jazeera, confides that if he were offered a job with Fox News, he would take it. He wants his children to seek their futures in the United States, he says, and I carefully wrote down his next words: "To exchange the Arab nightmare for the American dream." These are the words of a man Rumsfeld calls a liar. That many American news organizations including the New York Times, have had to apologize for errors in their coverage of Iraq may indicate that Rumsfeld and his teammates may also have supplied them with ... inaccuracies.

Khader is seen in action, interviewing an American "analyst" named Jeffrey Steinberg who attacks U.S. policy. Afterward, Khader is angry that his network arranged the interview: "He's just a crazy activist. He wasn't an analyst. He was just against America." We also see correspondents from CNN, Fox and the networks attempting to stay objective, although they collectively lose it when a military spokesman holds up the famous deck of cards with the faces of Iraq's "most wanted" on it, announces the decks will be distributed by the thousands throughout the country, and then refuses to let the journalists see the cards.

The documentary is low-key for the most part, just watching and listening. Many of its scenes take place in and around CentCom, the temporary media center in Qatar where the world's journalists gathered during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Here Americans have long conversations with their counterparts at Al Jazeera, which is privately owned and heavily watched in Arab countries because viewers trust it more than their own government channels.

I have not seen Al Jazeera and am in no position to comment on its accuracy. I have seen this film, however, which contains enlightening moments. Remember the TV scene when joyous Iraqis toppled the statue of Saddam Hussein after the capture of Baghdad? TV pictures on the monitors at CentCom clearly see something American audiences were not shown: The square was not filled with cheering citizens, but was completely empty, except for the small band of young men who toppled the statue.

Al Jazeera producers watch the footage with their U.S. counterparts and observe that those who are interviewed "do not have Baghdad accents." They wonder why one "happened to have the old Iraqi flag in his pocket." The implication: This was a staged event, initiated by the U.S. occupation and bought into by the U.S. media.

The movie listens in on many philosophical bull sessions between a U.S. Marine press spokesman, Lt. Josh Rushing, and an Al Jazeera producer named Hassan Ibrahim, who once worked for the BBC. Rushing defends the American line but is willing to listen to Ibrahim, who deconstructs some of the American claims (his version: "Democratize or we'll shoot you"). Some of Rushing's statements ring a little hollow today, as when he says, "The American POWs expect to be treated humanely, just like we are treating our prisoners humanely."

The correspondents are saddened when three journalists are killed in Baghdad by U.S. strikes. We see one of them, working for Al Jazeera, sitting sadly behind sandbags on the roof of a building, looking like a man who has had his last meal. The network carefully informed American authorities of the location of their bureau, it's noted, and American rockets struck that location not long after Rumsfeld and others complained about Al Jazeera's coverage. An accident of war.

"Control Room" was directed by Jehane Noujaim, an Arab-American documentarian who made "Startup.com," the absorbing 2001 doc about an ambitious Web site that got caught in the collapse of the Internet bubble. In this film, she seems content to watch and listen as journalists do their jobs and talk about them. She doesn't take sides, but in insisting that there is something to be said for both sides, she offends those who only want to hear one side.

What is clear is that the Al Jazeera journalists feel more disappointment than hatred for America. During one of those bull sessions, there's a rhetorical question: "Who's going to stop the United States?" And an Arab replies: "The United States is going to stop the United States. I have absolute confidence in the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. people." The film's buried message is that there is a reservoir of admiration and affection for America, at least among the educated classes in the Arab world, and they do not equate the current administration with America.

Note: Salon.com reported June 6 that Lt. Josh Rushing was ordered by the Pentagon not to comment on this film, "and as a result, the 14-year career military man, recently promoted to captain, plans to leave the Marines."
Copyright Chicago Sun-Times Inc.

I like al-Jazeera. Mohammad Mu'Abula O'Reilley always has some interesting things to say.

Dr_Retriever, Jacksblack

This is rich. Americans making fun of someone for being fat.

I liked how he says he secularizes these 'religious wars' and can see them as being about money and power. Religion just throws gas on the fire.

You mean they're fair and balanced, too?

I can just sense it...

"To infinity and beyond!"

--Buzz Lightyear (seeming to have insight about the flamewar that is about to ensue).

Wwll, most of the Mid East is run by ultra right-wingers. Just giving the audience what they want.

On a side note:

Can we get powdrpufgrrl off the damn personals spot. Im tired of looking at her alterna stare and her nostrils. And that witty-weird quip about air hockey is infuriating as well.

Pwdrpfgrl-You suck. I hate you. You have a stupid face. A stupid butt. And you prolly say stupid things that are supposed to be funny but really suck.


oh...and al jazeera is stupid too.

Hassan the Hutt: Candy Smuggler

What a wonderful thumbnail sketch of this stupid conflict: Small groups of froth-at-the-mouth extremists on both sides with access to powerful information technologies dragging the vast majority of people into their pointless, brutal war.

Yay! We all get to pay for and die in the War Of The Nutty Zealots!

I saw that daily show too. I wonder how that Hassan guy felt talking to a jew since he seemed to have a pretty strong anti-Israel stance from the interview. Stewart was expertly careful of veering away from it though.

If there is any problem with Stewart's interview style is that he avoids confrontation like the plague but that does make the interviewees more comfortable about appearing I suppose.

When he hits a contentios issue you can tell he's nervous because he starts speaking really slow and quiet and then quickly qualifies what he just said.

Baghdad Bob already works for Fox News. His new name is Sean Hannity.

I love all the heat Fox news takes for being "fair and balanced".. It's only bias if you don't agree with their choice of adjectives when reporting. For example, NPR seems pretty normal if you lean to the left, as does ABC or CBS. Those guys trip my radar daily, and I hear things that could be phrased differently, if they chose to work at it- but they don't. Bias inevitably creeps in.
Fox goes waaaay to far to the right, but they found a market that was underrepresented, and now they milk it for all it's worth. I wouldn't call it news, but it makes money. I listen to NPR daily, I have had to learn to filter out the god-I-miss-the-sixties post hippie rhetoric. If you don't like Fox, turn the damn channel, or sit there and suffer like most conservatives have had to for years with EVERY other major news scource.

So Fox was running pieces about how the Abu Gharib torturers were really just freedom fighters needing love and admiration.

stupid headlines.. even stupider submitter

Spam-I-Am,

You watch Fox AND listen to NPR? So when they took that survey that asked whether you believe that Iraq was responsible for 9/11, were you part of the 70% of of Fox viewers that believed Iraq was involved in 9/11, or were you part of the 90% of NPR listeners that knew Iraq was NOT involved in 9/11?

you'll find whatever you want in this story. hate it, love it.....it's all there......perfect for fark, really.

Dude that's a low blow. Apologize to Al-Jazeera.

Does this mean Al Jazeera is owned by Mohammed Bin Murdoch?

Spam-I-Am:

If someone can't tell the difference between someone having bias and someone being balanced, regardless of any opinions they have on the matter, then they are the kind of person easily convinced and doesn't have any real thoughts of their own.

If you let your own bias cloud your objectivity, you're a fool.

Saw this movie this past weekend. It's actually pretty good, if a bit unfocused. I was rather surprised at how there are a lot of people at Al Jazeera who seem legitimately concerned about broadcasting the news and journalistic integrity and being balanced (in addition to a few who don't seem so concerned). I'd recommend seeing it if you're even vaguely interested.

Fox-News first name, Al-jazeera last name!!!

does he work there??

HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAA

2004-06-16 01:24:14 PM Geotpf

Thanks for posting that review. Washingtonpost.com also has one, and they all pretty much say the same thing. Sounds interesting, but I do wish I was able to see al-Jazeera. I'm going to add it to my list of movies to see.

I think this pretty much negates anyone's arguements against Al-Jazeera:

The bloody footage became part of the routine fade-out for some programs. It is consistent with the more gruesome pictures shown in the foreign press but also unquestionably served to rouse already inflamed Arab passions against the U.S.

And yet at roughly the same time, Fox News Channel set images of bombs exploding in and around Baghdad to stirring classical music for a montage reverently recording the efforts of the U.S.-led forces. And American media outlets have spent far less time on the injuries and deaths caused to civilians by the U.S.-led coalition during the invasion and occupation.

Most everything we see on US news is from our point of view and often doesn't show how our actions affect other people. Most everything Arabs see on Al-Jazeera is from their point of view and often doesn't include the United States' point of view. They are merely showing the flip side of the coin.

2004-06-16 01:28:28 PM Asteron

Being against Israel does not equal being against Jews. I work with Jewish people, attend class with them, eat lunch with them, talk to them, and whatever else normal people do. Hell, I even (gasp) watch Seinfeld and Jon Stewart! I have no problems with Jewish people but I have a serious problem with the apartheid state that is Israel.

I saw this movie at the Philadelphia film festival earlier this year. It is a good movie. They do a really good job of just trying to see through the B.S. and tell the world whay is actually happening. Remeber, this was filmed during the invasion of Iraq. There are some really good points made by both the news casters and the one military spokesman they talk too.


Don't critisise[sic], unless you have seen the movie.

"And now, let's head over to Muhajadeen The Weather Machine...Mu?"

/wishes he had a picture of Shepard Smith to make that line funnier...

I am tired of people beating on Fox News. It is no more slanted to the right as CNN is to the left. I try to get full news coverage by looking at a little of everything. I do like Fox though because they are more positive with their stories. O'Reilly is the man too, and he happens to be on Fox. The simple fact that I come to Fark everyday shows that I attempt to look at all views. You guys are the most liberal people in America for the most part. My favorite was people defending having sex with 14 year olds the other day.

what makes foxnews baised? Cause they have O Reilly and when libs go on his show they look like fools.

Spam-I-Am -

Great post. Fox News is rapidly increasing it's market share at the expense of CBS, CNN, MSNBC. For people who watch it, it is indeed more fair and balanced than the others. Why is that so hard to understand?

Marine Lt. Josh Rushing, a military spokesman then based at CentCom, said during the documentary. "It benefits Al-Jazeera to play to Arab nationalism because that's their audience, just like Fox plays to American patriotism, for the exact same reason - American nationalism - because that's their demographic audience and that's what they want to see."

money, money, money.

See the movie before you pontificate and sound like an ignorant brainwashed jingoist. I saw it two weeks ago in pre-release, and the movie is excellent. It really makes the American media look bad. AJ is basically just doing what our media did in Vietnam, truthtelling on the battlefield if you want to call it that. Our media cleans everything up to an untruthful and disgusting extent. Then the Pentagon pulls tricks like banning the distribution of photos of flag-draped coffins, which is outrageous. There is nothing disrespectful about publishing these images.

When we contemplate the deaths of our soldiers, we are forced to evaluate for what they made the ultimate sacrifice, which is exactly what the Pentagon doesn't want you to do -- Think. Participating in this evaluation is not disrespectul. It is essential to democracy. Do you really trust Rumsfeld to make all these decisions for the voting public, keeping us in the dark? I sure don't. I want to be an informed voter.

The truth is that we have killed many civilians, even bombing buildings housing foreign journalists after said journalists had fully and specifically pre-disclosed their coordinates to the U.S. military in hopes of avoiding their impending deaths. This point is made tragically in the film.

Another thing that may surprise you if you actually see the film, which you should, is that the AJ staff are highly intelligent professionals who speak better English than many Americans I know. These are not the stereotypical dupes of jihad that some of you want to paint them as.

I was going to write a well thought out comment on how Al Jazeera is the first real attempt by the Arabs at independent journalism and that we should pick a better target, yada yada...

But none of you would listen, so fark it.

LilyDurona-It does sound like an interesting movie. When the war was in full swing (before the carrier landing), I watched some Al Jazeera (there was streaming video of it, I don't know if there still is). Of course, I don't speak the language, so all I could do was look at the pictures (which looked like pictures of a news channel covering a war).

TheConvincingSavant

I could have used this link yesterday.

/smacks head

Wow, you are a complete idiot. Comparing Fox News to Al Jazeera doesn't help your case.

Geotpf

http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-control11f.html


CONTROL ROOM / *** (Not rated)

Thanks for the link. Looks like an interesting film. I love documentaries.

modernhamlet

I would read it. But that's just me.

Wh0mprat I love how you generalize. Americans making fun of someone for being fat.

Maybe not all Americans do, but I feel that it is part of my duty to address the major issue that Americans (and Canadians) face today, even if it is in a very brash manner, and thats the obesity epidemic. I see it all of the time and it really scares me. Obesity is bad enough, but throw in the secondary effects (diabetes, heart attack, stroke, etc) and it is rather shocking.

It is such a shame that some issues are so hush-hush and if anyone so dare speak the truth, then they are "making fun". Well, WAAAAAAA. Cry to mommy I don't care. If you are fat, you sure as hell should address the issue.

I am 15 to 20 lbs overweight. I would kill for a slice of pizza and a coke but I'll settle with my oven roasted vegetables and a bottle of water. I would love to peruse fark all afternoon, but I plan on spending at least 1 hour on the treadmill this afternoon.