My first exposure to NPR was through Car Talk one Saturday morning many years ago. Now I listen more to NPR than any other news outlet.
I heard Al-Jazeera America’s name listed among the various foundations that support National Public Radio this morning. If that is the case, I guess NPR won’t need any more of my money during the next pledge drive. I usually contribute twice a year, at least a little bit. Do Bill and Melinda Gates know about this? How about listeners like you?
I’m no bigot, and I even have some Muslim friends, but I have to draw a line in the sand on this one. If they ARE contributing enough to be mentioned as a supporter, how long can it be before they become part of the tail that wags the dog?
I saw not too long ago a Koch brother was a supporter, never been in line with their ideology, is there influence, hopefully not, all contributions appreciated, no strings attached?
I don’t want to start anything and all I ever look for is the unvarnished, un-PC truth, but it appears there might be things going on that I was way unaware of. I’m afraid there may be damage being done now that will leave us wide open. I ordered two books to try and catch up a little.
The one is “Bringing Down America” by Larry Grathwohl. I never paid much attention to the Weatherman when I was young, but he infiltrated them as an FBI plant. They evidently had some very scary plans for indoctrinating the country. Some of those people are now in leadership roles in our schools and public programs. This guy risked his life and even his own mother didn’t know his FBI role. He died recently and its an old book but thought I owed it to him to at least read of his experience.
The other one is “What Every American Needs to Know About the Quran” by William Federer. Again he is a historian and was on CSPAN and not a lunatic, but went into the history and how the radicals are gaining a foot hold.
Like Reagan said, and I was not a great supporter of his, but he said it only takes one generation to lose our freedoms. I fear we may have had the wool pulled over our eyes by all of the PC talk and liberal-conservative crap thats thrown around. Rather than having free discussions of difficult subjects to try and arrive at the truth, we yell at each other.
I’m also going back over Vince Flynn’s books after his death. Maybe they are a little extreme but the couple times I met him, he talked about his friends in the CIA and how they help develop his plots. Just sayn’ may not be so far fetched.
Quoting @jtsanders “Why are you so set against them?”
It’s because the news they are likely to put out on their own channel, and/or the NPR news they may be able to sway to their point of view, will quite obviously be white washed. Do you think they don’t have an agenda? Of course they do, and it involves dominance of this country.
So-called Fox News has an obvious agenda. MSNBC also has an obvious agenda, but I’m pretty sure the rest of the news organizations share one agenda, to provide unbiased news.
I know someone else who also seems to have a hair up his @## about Al-Jazeera, and I don’t get it. If you’ve got a legitimate complaint about them, I’d love to hear it, because when I ask anyone what’s wrong with Al-Jazeera, all I get is a bunch of non-factual propaganda. Seriously, if there is some way that they are doing more harm to this country than MSNBC and so-called Fox News, I’d love to know what it is.
I just took a look for a few minutes and looked at some of the comments. Just from a quick glance they pick stories like curbing alcohol in the Sioux Tribe and how terrible alcohol is. Then of course the comments are how alcohol is the bane of the Indians and the western world. Not that there is anything wrong with the story but the South Dakota paper was the only place I’ve seen it covered before because it is a SD story. Just seems to be particularly bent against western culture. Of course Saudi anti-domestic abuse was also covered as in the BBC. I didn’t look at the article on gays so don’t know what that says. Just don’t think it will be my go to place for news coverage.
Probably useful to know what the world perspective is on the US…even from those who don’t much like us. Might result in less tone-deaf foreign policy?
As a cynic, I can imagine Al J and Fox conspiring to make both of their lives easier: one says something outlandish, the other makes a disproportionate response, rinse, lather, repeat. Boost ratings without much work ;-:
I don’t think you have to worry about Al Jazeera influencing NPR’s programming…NPR takes money from the Koch Bros. too but I don’t see where that buys them any influence…
As a stand alone news organization, Al Jazeera covers areas of the world that have been abandoned by the other news organizations and Al Jazeera is the ONLY source of news for about a third of the worlds population. Their Al Jazeera America news broadcast is as even handed and unbiased as BBC is (or was) and their viewpoints can be very enlightening given today’s news vacuum…
It’s a step that brings a controversial non-USA news organization closer to the daily lives of us US citizens. Similar to foreign students studying in our universities, they go back home with a new understanding and warm sentiments for the people of the US.
It may bring influence for what NPR reports. As long as it’s not propaganda, diversity in the news we hear is healthy.
NPR needs the money. I have trust it won’t corrupt the news they report.
I just noticed the presence of Al Jazeera on my program guide a few days ago.
While I have not yet had an opportunity to view it, I would like to defer forming any opinions about that network until after I have viewed it a few times.
It took me only a couple of viewings of both Fox “News” and MSNBC before I decided that neither of them are objective. As a result, I watch neither of them, unless I am a passive viewer while in a doctor’s waiting room.
The NY Times seems to think that Al Jazeera will be a legitimate source of information on the Islamic areas of the world, so I will give that news outlet a chance to prove itself to me.
So…maybe I will eventually decide to avoid Al Jazeera, or maybe I will occasionally watch it.
To form an opinion, prior to actually viewing it, would be–in essence–a sign of prejudice, and I like to consider myself to be an open-minded person.