Spring Break
Bureau chief talks war on terror with students, community
Ryan Buchan
Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: News
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"He says it like it is. It's his opinion, whether we like it or not," said Hatim Qutob, a mechanical engineering graduate student. "He is an eloquent speaker."
Fisk discussed the war on terror and said it is failing to solve problems.
"If you saw what I saw, you would know there is no such thing as a just war," Fisk said, "and never support a war for any reason."
Fisk said he does not think that either presidential candidate will solve the problems in the Middle East, and also criticized journalists for not asking the right questions and challenging authorities.
"It's the truth you don't see from the mainstream media," said Sheri Amiri, a San Jose resident. "Hopefully, there will be more like Robert Fisk."
When Sept. 11 occurred, Fisk said, nobody asked why it happened. Instead, members of the media asked how it happened and who did it.
He also discussed the problems with the roots of journalism, such as giving fair, neutral coverage. He said he does not favor giving one half of the coverage to one side of an issue, then giving the other half to the opposing view.
"We as journalists should be unbiased and neutral for the side that is suffering," Fisk said.
During the Civil War, he said, media would not devote half of their coverage to the view of the people enslaving Africans, and during World War II, media would not devote half to the Nazis.
"We wish most young journalists would follow in his footsteps," said Muna Sou, an East Bay resident.
Fisk also spoke about why circulation of newspapers is declining. He said that struggling publications are not giving people the information they desire, forcing people to look elsewhere to find information.
"People should come to the Middle East and see it with their own eyes," Fisk said. "Then they will know what to make of the newspaper."
Fisk is an award-winning journalist, who has been honored as the British Press Awards' International Journalist of the Year seven times. He has written multiple books and works as the Middle East bureau chief for the Independent newspaper in London.
Fisk currently lives in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon.
"I like his first-person account because he actually lives in the Middle East," said Charley Abboud, a senior computer engineering major.
The event was sponsored by the SJSU department of anthropology, the SJSU Cesar Chavez Community Action Center, the San Jose Peace and Justice Center and South Bay Mobilization.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 14
Max Grossman, Ph.D.
posted 9/25/08 @ 11:21 AM PST
Although Robert Fisk is known to be a controversial figure in the media world, particularly with regard to his views on Israel, his talk last night was more measured and balanced than I had expected. (Continued…)
Alan Kent
posted 9/25/08 @ 11:07 PM PST
Robert Fisk was quoted as saying: "We as journalists should be unbiased and neutral for the side that is suffering". Parse that, and you see that being "unbiased and neutral" are not his aims, but that being "for the side that is suffering" is. (Continued…)
George Watts
posted 9/26/08 @ 1:14 PM PST
It is very revealing when the Israel-first crowd describes one of the most respected, knowledgeable, and decorated journalists in the whole of the world as "controversial" and "biased. (Continued…)
Susan
posted 9/26/08 @ 9:29 PM PST
In October 2006, journalist Robert Fisk was given the front page of the UK's Independent to spread the libel that Israel had used uranium-based weapons in southern Lebanon during that summer's war. (Continued…)
Susan
posted 10/02/08 @ 9:10 AM PST
Thomas - You probably are unaware that the UN is made up mostly of rogue theocracies, dictatorships and monarchies. Out of 192 countries 57 of them belong to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). (Continued…)
Ted Rudow III,MA
posted 10/05/08 @ 6:36 PM PST
Israeli psychologist Nofer Ishai-Karen and psychology professor Joel Elitzur interviewed 21 Israeli soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories. They found that the soldiers routinely engaged in murder, assault, threats and humiliation, and many of them enjoyed it. (Continued…)
Tedriii
Ted Rudow III,MA
posted 10/05/08 @ 6:50 PM PST
The Arab who are the intelligent and as great in art, culture, language and literature, science and mathematics, warfare, politics and religion and everything else as they have been, it is amazing to me, I can't even understand how little we are taught about them in school! What little we have been told is pure Anti-Arab propaganda. (Continued…)
Greg
posted 10/06/08 @ 4:48 PM PST
Ted, if the Arabs are so great in culture, how can you explain the fact that they treat women as less than human? If you are to criticize the west, you also have to understand that the east, middle east, and everyone else is all equally guilty of something. (Continued…)
Drug treatment for women
posted 10/27/08 @ 2:21 PM PST
Wow that's quite a big turnout, I'm bummed I didn't get to see this...sounds like it inspired a lot of interesting conversations
Jason Harrison
posted 10/27/08 @ 8:55 PM PST
Funny how angry and vicious the pro-israel crowd gets when one person just suggests that israel has been unfair. Pretty obvious that you guys are biased. (Continued…)
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