
Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau - borism
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201113085252994161.html
======
yequalsx
I guess this is a ringing endorsement of Al Jazeera. It's the network the
dictators fear. I can see some people saying they are being shut down because
they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is
pure nonsense.

It's nice to have a news network that doesn't suck so bad. It's shocking that
this network does better (in my opinion) at news reporting than American news
networks given that it comes from a part of the world where free speech isn't
a concept rooted in law.

Look for the network the dictators hate. The network that the ruling class
denigrates. That's the one more likely to be telling the truth.

~~~
raganwald
Saying that US Networks do a poor job of reporting because their coverage
sucks is exactly like saying that Wal-Mart does a poor job of retailing
because they sell plastic junk. It's what the people want.

~~~
hasenj
Journalism is not about satisfying consumer demands; it's about getting the
truth out.

Or at least that's what I like to think.

~~~
ajdecon
Getting the truth is what being a journalist is about. Unfortunately,
journalists are rarely in charge of news organizations.

------
mixmax
Around a month ago a good journalist friend of mine was taken prisoner in
Algiers because of his reporting. After a few days of heavy pressure from the
embassy he was released unharmed.

A lot of friends were worried and continually asked if he was OK and whether
his profession was really worth it. I congratulated him on his new status as a
real grown-up journalist, whose reporting was so good that he scared regimes
enough that they would want to imprison him.

This is the same - Al jazeera is doing such a good job that they're a threat
to the Egyptian regime. They do what journalists are supposed to be doing but
often aren't. They should be congratulated for that.

~~~
phlux
Wouldn't it be interesting if someone like Keith Olberman went to Al Jazeera.

~~~
pmorici
Why? Keith Olberman isn't a journalist by most objective measures, he's a
partisan talking head.

~~~
phlux
My point was more;

"Wouldn't it be interesting if [big, well recognized american media
personality] went to Al Jazeera"

~~~
rajbot
David Frost, while not American, has had a show on Al Jazeera English since
2006:

<http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/frostovertheworld/>

~~~
borism
_David Frost, while not American_

Every american should know David Frost, if they don't they're not american.

~~~
hugh3
Do true Scotsmen know about David Frost as well?

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JonnieCache
Just so you know, aj jazeera is still broadcasting live from cairo. The
egyptian authorities have revoked their license, but they are still carrying
on regardless just as they have in previous days.

I think the title should be changed, they have not in any real sense been
"shut down."

~~~
corin_
It reads that the bureau has been shut down, not their activities.

They are still doing their coverage, but:

    
    
      - They have been kicked out of their Cairo office [1] [2]
      - Their "tv uplink" has been shut down [3]
      - Their correspondants in Egypt are no longer being named when reporting on air "for their safety"
    

_[1]<http://twitter.com/nolanjazeera/status/31681013461557248> [2]
[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/2011130...](http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/2011130164532649572.html)
[3] <http://twitter.com/nolanjazeera/status/31755344522772481> _

~~~
JonnieCache
I am watching it right now and they are showing a live feed of Tahir square,
Cairo.

Maybe their studio there is down and they're feeding from a lone camera on the
ground, straight back to their studios elsewhere in the world.

EDIT: This does in fact seem to be the case.

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ck2
While this is a really bad sign, another really bad sign is they are flying
F-16s low over civilian crowds right now, for no other reason than to
intimidate them. Just saw it on CBS and it's pretty freaky and scary.

I'm starting to think this is going to end really really badly. Are democratic
revolutions even possible anymore today, given the technology and sheer
firepower the small number in power can wield against the masses (which
ironically the USA sells them).

~~~
btilly
How quickly we forget. Tunisia, earlier this month.

In fact that example was the impetus behind the Egyptian protest movement. If
(as seems likely at this point) Egypt falls, expect to see several other
governments fall as well.

This is as momentous a time for the Middle East as the fall of the Iron
Curtain was for Eastern Europe. (Incidentally said fall gives several more
examples of how military might doesn't prevent democratic revolutions.)

~~~
drags
Not to be too pedantic, but the Eastern European "refolutions" were made
possible because a) the Soviet Union and b) local Communist governments
simultaneously made the decision not to use force.

Those decisions (and their publicity) were a necessary condition; it's what
made the difference between 1956, 1968 and 1980 on the one hand, and 1989 on
the other.

It will be a long and dark road for Egypt if Mubarak can successfully order
the military to slaughter the protesting masses. The revolution will fail,
both the government and the opposition will lose credibility in the eyes of
the people and it will be years or decades of strict martial law.

~~~
btilly
Military might does not prevent the possibility of democratic revolution.
However many pre-conditions are necessary before democratic revolution can
happen.

For instance the military response to 1980's events in Poland were much less
nasty than the earlier examples because of the economic trouble Poland was in,
and its dependence on loans from Western banks. The economic fallout from the
regime's attempts to navigate their way through conflicting demands helped set
the stage for the events of 1989.

Without that backdrop, 1989 would have turned out very differently. No matter
how much the people wanted otherwise.

As for Mubarak, I'd be willing to bet money that it is too late for him. Yes,
the army can crack down. But the public images from any attempt to do so will
make it unpalatable for Western companies to do business with Egypt for a long
enough period of time to recreate his problems.

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hasenj
Al Jazeera's bureau ALWAYS gets shut down anytime there are breaking news any
where.

EDIT:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera#Attacks_on_and_censo...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera#Attacks_on_and_censorship_of_Al_Jazeera)

(keep scrolling down to Controversy)

~~~
dpatru
If this is not true about other news bureaus, this says a lot about Al
Jazeera.

~~~
iuguy
Part of the reason for actions against Al Jazeera are because of where it is
and where it focuses on. The BBC and CNN are Western-based media, and they toe
the line when it comes to western media principles so dictators know what to
expect.

For Al Jazeera, it's based in an Arab state, focuses on the Arab and North
African world and many of these countries are either in a state of
dictatorship or are relatively unstable. It also adopts what can be described
as a mostly pan-arabian world view, much to the chagrin of the west. Therefore
it's not surprising that a) given it's location and orientation and b) it's
relative youth compared to the BBC, CNN et al and c) it's willingness to go
against the grain in various countries, including against the will of the
west, that it's attacked.

It's also important to note that while it's based in Qatar, it doesn't tend to
provide the same level of criticism in Qatar as it does elsewhere.

~~~
iuguy
Actually just to be clear and to make sure I don't sound like an ignorant
European with some sort of MSM superiority complex, the British media is also
pretty bad. The BBC is not exactly completely impartial - compare coverage of
the BP oil spill on the BBC to CNN and you'll see some obvious differences.

In the UK we get BBC News, Sky News (owned by the same guy that owns Fox, and
just as fair and balanced), Russia Today (which is hilarious to watch
sometimes because of the blatant pro-russian bias) and Al-Jazeera, as well as
some minor news programmes on other channels. All of them have their own bias
to at least some extent, some greater, some worse. The trick is spotting where
the bias lies and compensating for it.

It's even worse with newspapers here in the UK - have a look at
<http://tabloid-watch.blogspot.com/>

Of course, the most transparent newspaper in the UK appears to be the Daily
Sport. They don't really care about news, just sport and topless women.
(<http://www.sundaysport.com/> \- warning, NSFW)

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netmau5
This is a very sad day for objective journalism. My family is from Iran and
I've spent plenty of time watching it over satellite. I liken them to CNN in
the 90s before they too started getting politically charged.

I'm angry that Al Jazeera has such a bad rap in the states, but frankly, I
think we'd believe Nickelodeon was evil too if Fox News caught them
broadcasting a single frame with both Bin Laden and their network emblem.

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luke_s
According to the Al Jazeera live blog for today 6 of their journalists have
just been arrested in Cairo! Since the liveblog is always updating the
relevant posts are:

2:40pm: Our correspondent tweets:

    
    
        Unsure if arrested or about to be deported. 6 of us held at army checkpoint outside Hilton hotel. Equipment seized too. #Egypt
    

2:11pm BREAKING NEWS: Six Al Jazeera journalists arrested in the Egyptian
capital, Cairo.

Our correspondent there just tweeted this:

    
    
        4 soldiers entered room took our camera. Wr  ae under military arrest #Egypt #jan25
    
    

From: [http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/01/30/live-
blog-...](http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/01/30/live-
blog-311-egypt-protests)

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swaits
Is this Hacker News?

~~~
felixhummel
I would think so since censorship is a topic that "gratifies one's
intellectual curiosity".

~~~
swaits
Fair enough.

