New York Stock Exchange Bars Al-Jazeera Reporter

Reuters via Yahoo ^ | March 24, 2003 | Reuters

[Servant of the Nine]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Stock Exchange banned an al Jazeera reporter from its trading floor on Monday, saying it was restricting access to "responsible" networks, as the Arab satellite television channel faces criticism in the United States for its coverage of the war in Iraq.

"We've had to focus our efforts on networks that focus on responsible business coverage," said NYSE spokesman Ray Pellecchia, declining to comment further.

He described the Al-Jazeera ban as "indefinite."

Several other news organizations have also been denied entry to the exchange's downtown Manhattan trading floor in the past few weeks, Pellecchia said, though he declined to name them.

"Because of current security precautions, we have had to decline recent requests from broadcasters," Pellecchia said. Before Monday's ban, Al-Jazeera reported regularly from the world's largest stock exchange.

Al-Jazeera could not immediately be reached for comment.

The TV station, based in Qatar, has come under criticism for using Iraqi TV footage in its coverage of the war, including pictures of U.S. prisoners of war and Iraqi casualties. It has angered many in the United States before by broadcasting tapes of statements from Osama bin Laden.

"We believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the media," Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told Reuters. "It (the ban) would set a bad precedent, merely because of which area of the world they cover."

[litany_of_lies]

The TV station, based in Qatar...

If Qatar is on our side, they ought to seriously consider telling AJ to go somewhere else more hospitable....like Iran, Yemen, or Yasser Arafat's latrine.

[OldFriend]

Sadly NYers have never been patriotic. The majority are selfish self indulgent gimmes........even the police and firefighters are in hitlery's corner now as she fights for MONEY for their pet causes.

[montag813]

TELL DISH NETWORK TO STOP CARRYING AL-JAZEERA NOW!!!

[CobaltBlue]

Thank you for the first and only belly laugh of the day.

[dennisw]

[browardchad]

Not being pro-Arab could be interpreted as being a CIA-run station, therefore Al-Jazeera has to prove itself in the Arab world.

When has Al-Jazeera not been pro-Arab?

Al-Jazeera delights in whipping the Muslim masses into a frenzy of hate. When Bahrain was having increasingly violent protests during the Afghanistan war, it banned AJ on the grounds that it was "Zionist controlled." (Pretty funny, but they wanted our $$$ and couldn't call it an agent of the Great Satan.) Needless to say, AJ never lost any popularity as a result.

[gunnut]

Bravo!!!

[org.whodat]

Shooting him might be a bit extreme

That's correct, I think something a little slower and more painful would be in order.

[SupplySider]

Let them cover the Turkish market. Down 23% in the last week, by the way.

[Braak]

Amen, send the Iraqi-loving Yellow Journalists PACKING!

[Destro]

Ibrahim Hooper is a Chechen backing scumbag

[Destro]

Ibrahim Hooper is working to bring the jihad to America.

CAIR: 'Moderate' friends of terror

by Daniel Pipes

New York Post

April 22, 2002

[Int]

Eventually, Al-Jazeera will become a thorn in the flesh to the local Arab dictators... Al-Jazeera independence cuts both ways.

It already is. Al Jazeera journalists are banned from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan and Kuwait. (add NYSE to the list!)

[Tamzee]

WooHoooooo!!!!! Entirely appropriate as Al-Jazeera was aiding the enemy openly.... way to go, NYSE :-)

[dennisw]

Ibrahim Hooper is a Chechen backing scumbag
____________

What's the deal with his stupid beanie? Is he bald?

[firewalk]

bttt

[Mixer]

There's nothing wrong with having a sensible, rational immigration policy. It's called protecting national sovernity I think.

You are right and we should not allow the Politically Correct folks call it profiling either. We need to start getting people into office that share these views. There is a meeting with my state distict rep that I was invited to next Saturday and you can bet I will be there to find out where he stands on issues like these. I know he supports the war (and did before it started too) so that is a great start.

[Destro]

Islamic head covering.