Controversies surrounding Al Jazeera and their coverage of Egypt

I've been enjoying the coverage regarding Al Jazeera. They've been slammed because of perceived bias...it has been suggested they are promoting the cause of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

First I will only point out that the American public has not yet grasped or come to terms with the fact that the United States has backed yet another coup d'état and collaborated with yet another military regime.

It's the same old story but you would be hard pressed to find 1% of the American population that could tell you much about it.

There are so many things floating around right now. There are still people who think Obama was backing Morsi and the Brotherhood and can't quite grasp the fact that his fall (despite official statements of concern and caution) is being celebrated in Washington. Now they're going to suggest that Obama is in cahoots with Al Jazeera.

There are a lot of people living in a fantasy and yet what is far more insidious is the open lying. How many 'Christian' sites have I visited as of late where I'm struck by the volume and magnitude of blatant disinformation? I've lost count. When did lying become okay in order to promote your cause? I guess when your Gospel is political power then you do what you have to do.

And yet these are the same beasts that grew rabid when Bush was attacked. They'd quote scripture and tell you to honour the king and the powers that be.

That only applies when it suits them.

While I think Obama has definitely sold out to the establishment and been a huge disappointment to his base, these folks would paint him as a Satanic monster who just sits around engaged in evil 24/7.

Who is in a worse spiritual state? The lying propagandists or those that listen to them?

American power has been on display as of late and in pretty impressive ways if you have your eyes open. For many years now Al Jazeera has been a thorn in the side of the American Empire. They can't stand the fact that there elements reaching an international audience who refuse to comply.

Al Jazeera refuses to capitulate to the American regime. The bottom line is Morsi was democratically elected. To suggest that the secular and rather worldly folks at Al Jazeera (or me for that matter) like the Brotherhood is silly. That's not the point. This is about democratic values, national self-determination...the truth.

It's funny how refusing to be pro-American in your coverage makes you suddenly 'for' the Muslim Brotherhood.

If you read the statements from this latest batch of people who have left Al Jazeera you'll find the same mixed bag that we've seen before. Some have very different ideas about news coverage. Some are more obscure. Perhaps some concerns are legitimate.

It's always best to gather your news from multiple sources. Just watching one news channel or reading one publication is sure to lead you down a wrong road.

In this case there seems to be a variety of responses to the issues surrounding the coup in Egypt...some don't see it as a coup. Others refuse to see the hand of the Americans. Some are very much for it and were startled when the new military regime went after Al Jazeera's Egyptian offices and shut them down. This indicated a 'bias' to them on the part of Al Jazeera, otherwise why would the military have been so keen to silence them?  Others may have been intimidated.

These are people who naively believe that governments are interested in reporting the truth. These are people who think that governments want a free press. A free press checks the power of government and holds it to account.

Governments are interested in maintaining power. You'll be hard pressed to find any government in history who willingly gave up power because of a principle.

Was Al Jazeera for Morsi? I don't think so. Every time I watched Al Jazeera they provided a host of voices, some for Morsi and the Brotherhood and many who were adamantly against. If anything I think they're for the Egyptian people and the principle of democracy. They like many in the Middle East are frustrated by social and cultural failures but then again are they failures or are they subject to constant manipulation?

I don't find that kind of coverage in American media. I don't find challenging or even antagonistic interviews taking place on the evening news.

NPR will take on foreign diplomats and controversial figures but largely caves when it comes to interviewing respected members of the establishment.

The Qatari government has close ties with the United States and the Americans have several bases on their soil. Those that try to present this as some kind of Qatari plot to foil the Americans are not engaged with reality.

Like the BBC, Al Jazeera English is doing a dance. They're trying to maintain autonomy and I do not doubt there are elements within the station who are subjected to great pressure to conform to the regime's views which more often than not coincide with American interests.

Some have attacked Al Jazeera for not properly covering the situation in Syria or the uprisings in Bahrain. Perhaps, but compared to what? If Al Jazeera isn't as zealous for the overthrow of Assad as the Western media does that make them criminals? In fact they've been quite biased against Assad and I've been forced to look to the BBC and other news sources to even hear anything of the other side. There are many who are not for Assad but are against the alternative.

As far as Bahrain, Al Jazeera was the only network that I recall that was covering the Arab Spring uprisings there. Bahrain is heavily dependent on their Saudi neighbours and America has great interests in Bahrain. The American media wouldn't touch the story even when the Saudi's sent in security forces to crush the uprising.

Keep watching but don't listen to the extremists on either side. Though in order to do so it means shutting off most American media. Who owns the American media giants? What foreign policy and agenda supports them? Who are their enemies? You have to keep that in mind when you watch American news. Perhaps that's why it's mostly entertainment even when they're attempting to analyze something.