Egyptian anti-government protesters throw Molotov cocktails
While Egypt explodes in virtual isolation after being cut off from the rest of the world, we watch the shocking violence online. Which impresses upon me more than ever that internet and communications access is more of a human right – a necessary thing – that must now be upheld as an inalienable right. Horror, terror, and human rights abuses happen in a vacuum. If we did not have access, this is what would be happening. Or if we could only rely on US cable “news” outlets, who are exposing themselves during this crisis as utterly unfit, foolish and incompetent failures.
The most astonishing photos I’ve seen so far are on TotallyCoolPix, who have gotten them from Reuters and affixed their own watermark to them – legal or not, you must see these images. You will not see this, or anything like it on any corporate US media outlet. American cable news’ utter fallacies are being exposed during this event in a way that is nearly as shocking as the images themselves. (And warning: they are graphic.)
See also: Foreign Policy’s Day of Rage gallery.
American coverage is pathetic, and far substandard to world class reporting. Fucking shameful: read Al Jazeera’s Egypt coverage embarrasses U.S. cable news channels. While Al Jazeera is not as unbiased as BBC, they are live and unflinching, and not as lost and confused as Fox, CNN, and MSNBC – we would be utterly ignorant and clueless here in the US if we relied on these outlets. It is an essential lesson. Domestic news outlets are as useless as they have been for the past 20 years, and they have not adapted to the times.
“If you’re watching Al Jazeera, you’re seeing uninterrupted live video of the demonstrations, along with reporting from people actually on the scene, and not “analysis” from people in a studio. The cops were threatening to knock down the door of one of its reporters minutes ago. Fox has moved on to anchor babies. CNN reports that the ruling party building is on fire, but Al Jazeera is showing the fire live.” [Link.]
http://english/aljazeera.net/watch_now/ all the way. I spent an hour just now channel surfing CNN, MSNBC, and FOX, and it was horrible and clueless; they don’t know anything and they aren’t interested in finding out. They interview ancient college professors who went to Egypt once in 1979 to ask what this means for our relationship with Israel.
Meanwhile, in Cairo, events transpire. It’s not about us. But it’s interesting. And Al Jazeera, at least, will show you a camera feed that shows what’s happening.
I lived in Egypt for two years on a research grant and recently returned to the US. While I wish I was there right now, there has been a real solidarity between all the people I met while there. Not just Egyptians, but expats, journalists, students, and others. While glued to Al Jezeera for the last 3 days, I’ve also found that the same social media tools which assisted getting much of the society organized to protest has also been instrumental for sharing information. Consequently, I’ve received a far more up to the minute stream of information, and far more detailed, via facebook etc than I have through any news source aside from Al Jezeera.