JoshRushing

Simply have them watch it, even just a few minutes. It streams live on youtube at www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish.

You could also mention that Sec. Clinton testified in front of the Senate that the State Department watches it, that President Obama has recently publicly praised it, as has Sen. McCain.

You could also have them read this article I wrote for Readers Digest about it: http://bit.ly/urM6WU

But the very best cure for the Al Jazeera blues is to simply watch it.

Nope. We would never define ourselves by what the US thinks.

I have had a deep shift in thought over time. By being there. Spending time with them. Realizing what our actions looked like from there perspective. American media shows were the missiles take off from, Al Jazeera shows were they land. Our efforts to democratize the Middle East looked very different depending on which side of the barrel you were on. You may also refer to my reply to WingedDefeat about our limits of empathy.

Yes there was a moment like that. I promised to send him the DVDs of the missionaries' show. He never got back to me about it. I honestly don't believe that he was trying to cover it up. I think he truly believed that it couldn't be possible, which in a way confirms how outrageous the fact is that it actually happened.

I certainly believe there is something happening in the world right now. I think the frustrations of those in the Arab Spring are not that different from those rioting in Greece, demonstrating in Chile, occupying in the States from Oakland to New York. There is a growing awareness of the masses being getting the short end of the stick while the few at the top get richer and more powerful, which in turn becomes a vicious cycle. If I had to make a prediction, I believe significant change to the larger systems that run our world could be at hand within the next several years.

All that said, I'm not sure how closely linked the events in Mali are to all of this. My guess is that the war there is more a response to internal events and would likely be happening regardless of OWS, Arab Spring, et al.

(I have to screen my next episode of Fault Lines now. I'll be back in about half and hour.)