Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted July 27, 2004 No sooner had Arabic news network al-Jazeera arrived at the US Democratic party convention in a blaze of publicity than officials realised the risk of having the controversial network's logo looming over John Kerry's shoulder as he took to the stage. Convention organisers have irked the Arabic network by whisking away the 20ft, $30,000 sign that had adorned its broadcasting "skybox" behind the podium where John Kerry will deliver his presidential nominee acceptance speech. The al-Jazeera sign was replaced with another that said JohnKerry.com. Convention spokeswoman Peggy Wilhide said al-Jazeera had not been singled out. "Frankly, we're not providing a forum for companies to advertise, we dont want these kind of people here" she said. "We're trying to create the kind of atmosphere we want to best present John Kerry and the Democratic party. These people do not fit in with our views of a modern America" That atmosphere will include the signs of the big US networks such as CBS, ABC and CNN, but not al-Jazeera, which has 16 staff among the 15,000 journalists covering the event in Boston. An al-Jazeera spokeswoman said: "I don't think anyone would deny that the al-Jazeera logo and name are not part of John Kerry's communications plan". The network, which reaches are estimated 40 million Arabs, is expanding internationally and recently won a licence to broadcast in Canada. But the channel, which has been fiercely attacked for being anti-western, anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic, has annoyed Arab governments as well. The Iraqi government has accused al-Jazeera of inciting violence in Iraq and threatened to close down its Baghdad office. The channel, based in Qatar, plans to eventually float on the stock exchange in Doha. It was set up in 1996 and its first five years on air were funded by the Emir of Qatar, but since 2001 it has been required to pay its own way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted July 27, 2004 Hell, Democrats are just as bad, if not worse, than the GOP. Years ago former PA governor Bob Casey (who is a Democrat I would vote for) wasn't allowed to speak at the DNC convention because he was pro-life (I think it was the '96 Convention, but don't quote me on that). Now that's an open tent... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BUTT 0 Report post Posted July 27, 2004 Actually, it was the '92 convention. And they didn't let him speak because he wouldn't support Clinton. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crimson G 0 Report post Posted July 27, 2004 anti-Semitic Most frequently misused word by the press. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vyce 0 Report post Posted July 27, 2004 anti-Semitic Most frequently misused word by the press. Not in relation to Al-Jazeera. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
