This is NOT a politically-oriented post, but I wanted to get your thoughts on something that's been bothering me. I haven't seen the movie "Control Room", which deals in part with the Al-Jazeera network, which is obviously huge in the Muslim/Arab world. But I definitely want to check it out.

It seems like most every critic likes the documentary, and I was a little surprised to see that. What irks me about Al-Jazeera is that they seem to be the de facto mouthpiece for muslim terrorist groups. Just from a common sense standpoint, if Al-Jazeera refused to show all of those decapitation tapes, those threatening videos, etc., don't you think there would be a disincentive effect?? Sort of like when our American TV networks covering a football game pan away from the field when some idiot runs out on the field of play with some political message, etc. They do that so as not to encourage further idiots.

More troubling to me is the fact that Al-Jazeera in particular seems to get EVERY inside scoop from terrorists, as if they enjoy almost a fiduciary relationship with them. Don't you think that if the IRA sent similar tapes to local TV stations that those stations would notify the authorities about who dropped off those items? If one of Timothy McVeigh's associates sent a threatening letter to a local radio station before Oklahoma City, wouldn't that station get it to the FBI for a thorough investigation? We never seem to hear about that sort of stuff with Al-Jazeera.

Again, I was just a little confused by this situation, and I don't want to start a political discussion. I suppose with the network being located in Qatar, somewhat close to the CentCom headquarters over there, somebody could just pull the plug on them if they became too valuable a tool to the terrorists. And perhaps, on the other hand, the authorities WANT these tapes to get aired to give them leads as to the whereabouts and identities of the criminals. Anyway, I'll stop rambling.

I agree with you completely. All I ever hear is, "Al-Jazeera has a video of an American hostage, etc...." If Al-Jazeera would simply refuse to air that kind of material, anything having to do with terrorism, there would be no voice, no platform for those animals. The U.N. should pull the plug on that network until they clean up their act.

Im not trying to sound right-wing or anything, but Al-Jazeera should be banned in all countries. They seem to have absolutely no standards as to what they will show, as they show all those execution videos, and they seem to have absolutely no care about any sort of journalistic integrity. Their stories are horrendously biased and unashamed about it.

The network doesnt provide a mouthpiece for the Arab people, all it does is inflame hatred and terrorism.

Watch Control Room.

I wasn't so worried about terrorism at the DNC, but now that Al-Jazeera's going to be there, I'm seriously worried. They seem to have a connection to the major terrorist groups that gives them a "heads-up" as to when the next hit is going to happen. Why else would ALL of those beheading vidoes, Bin Laden messages, etc. show up on that network??

CONTROVERSIAL ARAB CHANNEL TO COVER CONVENTION
Al-Jazeera has been allotted space at the Democratic Convention in Boston next week, alongside ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News, the Boston Herald reported, noting that the Arab all-news channel will have 16 staffers covering the convention and will be "affiliated" with ABC (presumably meaning that it will be allowed to use ABC coverage). Although the network has been damned by leading Bush administration officials as a propaganda outlet for terrorists, al-Jazeera producer Stephanie Thomas, who generally works out of its Washington bureau, told the Herald: "We're basically just a bunch of hard-working people of every ethnic background, working very hard like everyone else in the news business." (From Daily Studio Briefing)

Vykromond has it right: see it, than at least you'll have an "informed" opinion about this particular documentary, and maybe Al Jazeera in general.

This is how Marine lieutenant Josh Rushing describes what Al Jazeera does,

"It benefits Al Jazeera to play to Arab nationalism because that's their audience, just like [the Fox News Channel] 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,"

He was provided by the Pentagon to work with the documentary people and evidently got to know them pretty well, to the point where he plays a fairly significant part in the film.

But remarks like the above got him in trouble with the powers-that-be. Rushing is now in LA liaison with Hollywood and prohibited from giving any more interviews about his part in the film. His wife has also been similarly enjoined. He will be leaving the services later in the year.

From the LA times:

"Here's a guy who represents the very best of public affairs in the Marines," says a senior military official who worked with Rushing at Central Command, speaking on condition of anonymity. "For whatever reason, it didn't play well with some of the senior brass in the Marine Corps at Pentagon. They're losing one of their finest."


Now Playing: "Dee Dee" Ornette Coleman Trio at the Golden Circle, Stockhom

Disclaimer: Not Know-It-All, just Well-Read.

I just watched this today, so of course, I have info which I never had before because the U.S. government/military/media wouldn't let me see it. There's no doubt in my mind that the United States is the most-perfectly-established country in written history. I just worry that so many people, under our "perfection", lie about so many things to "propagandize" their agenda.

You can curse Al-Jazeera all you want, but the Arab world has never really had the right of free speech or freedom of the press which Al-Jazeera, at least in THIS film, promotes.

I'm not going to froth at the mouth, since I agree it's not really a political topic, but the sorry truth is that everything NOW SEEMS to be about politics, and we have to get past that, or our "perfect" country will literally sink, just like the legendary Atlantis.

The fact that the White House encourages the silencing of Al-Jazeera is one of the most telling reasons why this documentary and Al-Jazeera should be allowed freedom of speech.
Al-Jazeera is a form of press; as is ABC, BBC, CNN, Fox, NBC, etc.
ABC, BBC, etc. are allowed freedom of speech.
Therefore, Al-Jazeera should probably be allowed freedom of speech also.
Control Room did not create any feelings of sympathy of those who choose to exercise physical violence. It is a portrayal of select events with personal testimony from two conflicting sides. One does not need to agree with the views expressed in the film to agree that Control Room is an excellent documentary.
While it will help people understand a small part of the plights of two polar sides, Western and Arab ideology, it is far from a synthesis of the events going on in the Middle East.
There are no obvious implications made except for those who truly follow the topic at hand. Those informed few already understand and know the implications before watching the documentary, so it is unlikely that Control Room had much effect for them. For that reason, Control Room is too objective to be deemed an editorial or propaganda.
It will affect many viewers who do not understand or follow the topic, and hopefully will only lead to further research rather than a conclusion.
Control Room does not directly make emotive arguments but it leads viewers to make their own emotive arguments. For example, the film does not--in itself--tell the viewer whether killing can be justifiable. It could be argued that the film does show a slanted viewpoint on the subject of killing and U.S. intervention since the number of testimonies of so-called Arab points-of-view outnumbers the testimonies of so-called Western points-of-view.
To be fair, people of the Arab point-of-view directly affected by the topic far outnumber the Western, so some might argue that it is justified that more coverage was given to the majority (Arabs) instead of the minority (Westerners) in that part of the world.
The DVD has special features that should have been included in the documentary because they are well worth seeing.
No matter your stance, Control Room is worth your time. It is available for rent at Netflix.com.

quote:

Originally posted by wong828:
Vykromond has it right: see it, than at least you'll have an "informed" opinion about this particular documentary, and maybe Al Jazeera in general.

This is how Marine lieutenant Josh Rushing describes what Al Jazeera does,

"It benefits Al Jazeera to play to Arab nationalism because that's their audience, just like [the Fox News Channel] 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,"

He was provided by the Pentagon to work with the documentary people and evidently got to know them pretty well, to the point where he plays a fairly significant part in the film.

But remarks like the above got him in trouble with the powers-that-be. Rushing is now in LA liaison with Hollywood and prohibited from giving any more interviews about his part in the film. His wife has also been similarly enjoined. He will be leaving the services later in the year.

From the LA times:

"Here's a guy who represents the very best of public affairs in the Marines," says a senior military official who worked with Rushing at Central Command, speaking on condition of anonymity. "For whatever reason, it didn't play well with some of the senior brass in the Marine Corps at Pentagon. They're losing one of their finest."


Now Playing: "Dee Dee" Ornette Coleman Trio at the Golden Circle, Stockhom

Disclaimer: Not Know-It-All, just Well-Read.

Three years later and there's a little bit of a happier ending with Rushing (not that being a liason to Hollywood is a tragic outcome or something), he's now working with Al Jazeera English. According to his interview on the Daily Show all his appearances in the documentary Control Room were spliced from just one long interview, so he really didn't "get to know them very well". That's just a testament to the work of this film, which is one of my favorite MOVIES let alone documentaries. I'd comment further but I want to save it for when I start a new thread on documentaries about the War on Terror or something. Please don't steal my idea .