US : What's happening?

So, thinking about what AmericanGirl posted yesterday about the lack of US news stories being posted up on here I thought I'd post up occasional stories to ensure people aren't being brainwashed.
I shall try to pull these from the BBC and other British sources just to show these things do get reported.

First up, Al Jazeera is launching in the US, how do people think it will be received? Having seen the version shown in the UK they do have some interesting programmes. But many cable companies have yet to sign an agreement to carry the channel - is this a form of censorship in the US?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23766274

I think that it will be like NPR, those who are liberal minded or are news junkies will probably tune in and like the diversity of programming. The right and outlets like Fox News will probably disparage it constantly and claim that it has an evil Muslim agenda.

I think that it will be censorship if cable providers don't pick it up because there will clearly be an attempt to stifle the showing of news that is both international in scope and less essentialist and partisan than a lot of American news. I honestly think that channels like Al Jazeera and Freedom TV (which was my favourite channel as a teen) are deeply needed to allow Americans to understand news from a variety of viewpoints as well as to present stories they would otherwise never hear.

I am a news Junkie and love Fox New, especially Greg Gutfeld's witty retorts.  What the right finds ironic is that some liberals choose to ignore the not so open minded tenets of Muslim Society.  Case in point the Norwegian woman who was raped and given a prison sentence (she was eventually pardoned).  Those who are in support of Women's lib and same gender relationships should be outraged at the way they are treated in Muslim society.  I truly admire those few liberals who are willing to openly state that this discrimination is wrong.  Do Muslims have as you wrote "an evil agenda"?  NO, but a theocracy will not adhere to liberal principles.

Funny you should mention Grieg Gutfeld as I used to like Red Eye but they had to drop it in UK as it was going out at about 8am and would be inappropriate for that time. We generally only see O'Reilly  because DW likes to watch. ..I tend to rant at it but have had a couple of emails read

I am a news Junkie and love Fox New, especially Greg Gutfeld's witty retorts.  What the right finds ironic is that some liberals choose to ignore the not so open minded tenets of Muslim Society.  Case in point the Norwegian woman who was raped and given a prison sentence (she was eventually pardoned).  Those who are in support of Women's lib and same gender relationships should be outraged at the way they are treated in Muslim society.  I truly admire those few liberals who are willing to openly state that this discrimination is wrong.  Do Muslims have as you wrote "an evil agenda"?  NO, but a theocracy will not adhere to liberal principles.

I don't think the left ignores it, they just don't damn an entire group of people due to the oppressive elements of some. Everyone was outraged by the treatment of the Norwegian woman in Abu Dhabi, but that is more specifically an issue with Abu Dhabi which clearly needs to be addressed. There are plenty of liberal, feminist, activist Muslims that fight for equality, it's just that no one likes talking about them. And  let's not kid ourselves, rape survivors in the West may not go to prison, but they are just as often blamed or ignored. Sexism, like most other forms of oppression and discrimination, is found all over the world regardless of religion, and my real question is why the Muslim world is always in the line of fire when awful things consistently happen here as well (like the reactions to the Steubenville rape case). And to be clear, aside from newspapers and the occasional nostalgic tuning to NPR, I haven't watched American news sources for years, I find both sides to be histrionic and not well-thought out, not to mention that showing a clip of a program of 'the left' to people here causes incredulous laughter. But I am one of the feared far-left, so take that as you will.

I am a news Junkie and love Fox New, especially Greg Gutfeld's witty retorts.  What the right finds ironic is that some liberals choose to ignore the not so open minded tenets of Muslim Society.  Case in point the Norwegian woman who was raped and given a prison sentence (she was eventually pardoned).  Those who are in support of Women's lib and same gender relationships should be outraged at the way they are treated in Muslim society.  I truly admire those few liberals who are willing to openly state that this discrimination is wrong.  Do Muslims have as you wrote "an evil agenda"?  NO, but a theocracy will not adhere to liberal principles.

I have a facebook acquaintance who posts an endless string of links to stories like this from right-wing blogs and other ‘news’ sources about alleged atrocities committed by Muslims, how Sharia law is taking over and other about various other plots and conspiracies being committed by Muslims in their quest for world domination, and these stories are usually coupled with comments asking why liberals aren’t outraged and why liberal media ignore these very important issues, thus betraying their principles.

At first I was amused, now I find it disturbing to read what’s being put out there. Some of the material is outright lies and almost all is twisted. Fox news is a beacon of truth by comparison.

What I find ironic is conservatives and right-wing radicals lecturing liberals about their lack of commitment to liberal issues while at the same time actively campaigning against those very same issues.



Sheri67 – if you’re a news junkie, what other news outlets do you watch/read?

And since you mentioned it, if you’re concerned about equality for women and gay people, I assume you fully support same-sex marriage and choice for women?