Informative posts or propaganda?
There isn’t a day that goes by where you can’t read of Christian persecution and murders and the horrific treatment of Christians by the “religion of peace” by the hands of radical Moslems those who are devout followers based in Africa, and the Middle East.
My guess is the poster is from Tanzania or Zanzibar, judging from the first comment here at FR where the poster was promoting his “Star TV” and glowing review of Al Jazeera (Jihad TV), that has been a mouthpiece for all kinds of terrorist groups ranging from al-Qaeda to Hamas to Hezbollah, inciting violence against U.S. allies in the region for years.
Al Jazeera TV’s own Moslem cleric Yusuf Qaradawi, who regularly diatribes anti-American and anti-Semitic statements had issued a fatwa calling for Gaddafi’s murder. And the son of Zanzibar, our “pres—ent, is following orders. :0)
“I am not an American (I am an African living in Africa). I have access to Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN International, CCTV and Euronews on my cable subscription (I used to have access to FoxNews, but I cancelled it).
Let me tell you frankly, Al Jazeera is leagues ahead of Fox News in terms of content.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2683622/posts?page=7#7
Perhaps you can query the poster as to their national origin. This is the internet and it may not always be wise to give too many personal details online. How many African Christians have done graduate work w/Iranian nationals and had educated parents? Caution is often the best route.
Many Americans have commented on the quality of Al Jazeera’s news content, even some FReepers. I rarely watch CNN, do not subscribe to the alphabets and live beyond over-the-air reception, but FNC, while having reporters in the region, often takes days to report fully on events I have read about online. The poster is dead on about the celebrity segments. As an older American, I often have no idea who the people are, why they are famous and could care less. It is shallow and a waste of time. So, I do not get your point, unless it is to tarnish someone because they have listened to/watched and learned from an Arabic network while residing in another country/continent or to attempt to chastise me for being naive.
The poster was warning Americans that they are rather ignorant of world politics, especially if they rely on FNC. He goes on to (again: gently) remind us that there is a war on for the hearts and minds of the world. We knew China was gaining control of land and resources in Africa, but I, at least, was unaware that working Africans go to lengths to learn a difficult language and obviously see China as their future.
His remonstrations reminded me of my own travel experiences, where my husband and I, while still young, went out of our way to escape the tourist resorts and get to know the people who worked there on their own terms. This was 20-35 years ago and we consistently found that people in other countries are better informed than we are about global politics and, in some cases, macro-economics and that they were frustrated beyond belief by the average American and European tourist. Everyone we met after 1995 owned a TV and received satellite coverage complete with multi-lingual closed captions. We learned to never assume that because someone was working in the tourist industry, they were also of menial mind. Sometimes, it was the best job available for someone who was also multi-lingual.
Even in Papua New Guinea in 1975, there was a native educated class that saw themselves as role models for the masses still living with one foot in the Stone Age. These people were educated in Australia and the UK. They were serious, often earnestly brilliant individuals and could offer insights not available to Americans of the same era. We always entered into these relationships as students, avoiding, as best we could, the insular, aggravating American attitudes that so frustrate the educated classes around the world. Never once did we encounter people who whitewashed their own leaders, at least, not once they got to know us. Everyone is always cautious, at first and that is totally understandable.
A few facts about the mullahs, that the poster states are *surprising* to Americans and which do not conflict with what I have read elsewhere, is not propaganda. I found it interesting that devout Muslim clerics promoted birth control and went out of the way to educate women. Since I have often read that Iranian women are no longer allowed to work once they have children, that makes it even more interesting to me as an insight into the mullah’s policies. Evidently, they want to reduce their birth rate. Is that because they are broke or because they distrust their subject citizens? Perhaps our African Christian poster can elaborate.
As the poster implies, the era of Cyrus the Great was a high point of Persian culture. I took the comment as gentle sarcasm, pro-Persian and a reminder that Iran was not only always Muslim, but that educated Iranians today are fed up with their rulers.
We Americans are often seen as being too blunt while lacking important information. Our lives, until quite recently, have been sheltered, one-sided and quite comfortable. This is not the case in other countries, especially non-Western ones. The poster reminded me of many individuals I have known abroad and I still do not doubt he can add to our understanding of the world as it is.
YMMV.