A video of the BBC reporter Alan Johnston has been released by the group (army of Islam) who claim to be holding him (he was abducted on March 12th on his way home in Gaza). It's a classic Jihadist video, the captive forced into bleating out the groups rants and demands. Now i find this to be counter productive for the Palestinians. As Alan Johnston was the only reporter to live in Gaza and give an account of the Palestinians every day life. It seems the Army of Islam is a shadowy group in Gaza that is slowly gaining a hold.
If this Army of Islam had any morals they would Alan Johnston without delay, but i fear he will end up being killed (if he hasn't been already, the Army of Islam follows the idiology of Osama Bin Laden if reports i saw on the rolling news channels were accurate, i shall do some checking up later. Though i don't think there is much to go on).
Which ever view point you take on the Israel vs Palestinian issues, you cannot deny that you need journalists to report the reality's of the conflict on the ground (even if those journalists are biased in you view - don't bite my head off Tulips, i know you dislike the BBC's reporting of Israel).
I hope i'm wrong and that Alan Johnston is still alive and will be freed shortly. It will be fascinating to hear his account of the experience. Frank Gardner another BBC journalist gave a very frank (pardon the pun) account of his shooting in Saudi Arabia by millitants and his battle to regain his mobility to a certain a degree.
Journalism is our window into the various conflicts around the world. Be they political or religious conflicts. Without Journalists risking their lives we would have very little idea of whats going on. Though these days you have to check up facts like never before (due to the various agenda's the news channels have, Murdoch being the worst example of pushing an agenda through his media outlets).
9 comments:
Journalism is hardly the high calling you make it out to be. It has become nothing more than agitation propoganda for the left.
Johnson is just another anti-us, anti-israel fool who thought that since he is effectivly supporting terrorists, that they would "come after him last". I personally have NO sympathy for so called journalists who get kidnapped by those that they support.
Good Journalism is still out there. You just have to sift through all the crap to find the good stuff. Which is nothing new.
Journalism is the tool of all political parties. It is not just confined to the democratic party or indeed the republicans.
Alan Johnston was aware of the risks of reporting from Gaza. Journalists goto war zones, they know the risks and accept them.
If you disagree with a journalists view point then you are entitled to put your arguements against that Journalist across. That is the essence of democracy. The ability to challenge other peoples view points, without fear of violence. I think it is quite right for journalists to report from places like Gaza and Israel to give a balanced view of the conflict. However you have to sift through the bias of the journalist to come to your own conclusions. Again nothing new, but something that people have forgotten in the age of news media that is dished up on a plate.
If i were you i'd stick that tin foil hat back on, least the evil lefties get you.
wasn't that a staged kidnapping...
Sorry,but I will rather say its idiotary to feel emotions for Alan Johnson.... after all He struck his on feet's with axe himself... and BBC still behaves with same Dhimitude... as it had in Past...
Sorry, but by supporting Jihadis... BBC is no where different then Stalin negotiating with Hitler... Stalin Dreamed that War between West and Nazis will make both of them weak.. thus help in soviatization of whole Europe...
and Leftist propoganda agency BBC think they will be able to make Pacts with Islamofacist... So last time Stalin came under attack when Nazis invaded Russia .. and now its BBC's Alan Johnson.
The old intellectual argument "both sides do it!!"
Please tell us what right wing super organization is out there that counters billionaire George Soros, an avowed socialist who has been busy shutting down dissenting opinion throughout eastern europe thru media consolodation, and is now pushing for the "fairness doctrine" here to silence conservative opinion. It isn't even as if it is all an organized plan, but try to explain how little coverage there is of the Al Queda torture cell and books and supplies that were found. Compare it to all the coverage of guys in Club Gitmo crying about having stiff pillows and unscented soap. Compare the Duke non-rape coverage to the Christian-Newsome rape/murders. Matthew Shepard to Jesse Dirkhising, Bush cocaine rumors to Clinton's brother ON TAPE saying "my brother has a nose like a vacuum cleaner" during a drug sting, Clinton's firing of 92 federal prosecutors vs Bush firing 8 of them. Don't give me that lame excuse that both sides do it.
Besides, the point of view of journalists SHOULD NOT MATTER. They are supposed to report, not indoctrinate. The essence of Democracy is not to have the freedom to argue against a liberal media establishment, and I have no idea in what school that is taught. To have a functioning democracy, you have to have an informed public, not a propogandized one.
Heh. Mr. Johnson is a journalist more or less in the same way Adam Gadhan is a journalist. Here's to hoping his new friends will splatter his vile gray matter on the wall of some basement in Gaza... it'll save the rest of us the price of a bullet.
Oh... and BTW... Journalism is one of the most horrible, immoral and disgusting professions availiable. It's right next to being the guy in Iranian prisons who rapes adolescent girls before they're executed (to make sure they don't go to heaven). Journalist is the guy who's taught that truth is nothing next to selling a paper; he's the stormtrooper of the horrid, Orwellian dictatorship of the Fourth Estate.
The extremely rare good journalist is a valuable exception... like Michael Totten, for instance. Alas, they tend to live brief lives, hated by their evil colleagues.
The truth about the lofty profession:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/122665
This is very good article.
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Red Tulips: I'm sorry I've been MIA-ing so long and my movie picks weren't really picks, I'm afraid. Sorry 'bout that too! In other news, you've been Meme'd by....................................................................................ME!!!
Check it out. Hope you enjoy!
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