Al Jazeera: Impressive in at Least One Respect

Recently started reading Aljazeera after a long hiatus (always wanted to use that word), and i have to say in at least one way i am pleasantly surprised. They have a section titled "Conspiracy Theories". Not that i am a big conspiracy theory nut, but at least the term gives these theories the credit they are due. Why, because well, according to Wikipedia, that bastion of dubious knowledge to be trusted at your own risk a conspiracy theory is defined thusly:

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A conspiracy theory is a theory that claims an event or series of events is the result of secret manipulations by two or more individuals or an organization, rather than the result of a single perpetrator or natural occurrence. Conspiracy theories often defy an official or dominant understanding of events, and proponents sometimes substitute zeal for logic.

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The bit i like is at the end, substitute zeal for logic, and if you look at the conspiracy theories around that pretty much sums them up. An essential part of most conspiracy theories is the requirement to believe something, usually fantastical, on the basis of a logical grouping of facts that are based on no verifiable evidence. In this case verifiable meaning a bit more strength than "a mate used to go out with a girl who lived across from the man who picked the fruit that went to Cottees to make the cordial that i like best told me that ..."

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Update:

Got my first comment today (12 July 07), and it was in response to this very post. Apparently Aljazeera is not Al Jazeera. It's a Conspiracy Theory, I reckon it was started by the "Anglo-American Coalition for the Annihilation of the Arabic Media System. It's enough to make me wish i had paid some money just so I could righteously demand it back. What is the world coming to, when as "Esmeralda Weatherwax" said "... sometimes things look more like things than things themselves"

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Anonymous said...
You are reading the wrong web site. Al Jazeera site doesn't have any section called 'Conspiracy Theories.' You are probably reading aljazeera.com. That site has no links to the satellite TV station Al Jazeera, which operates websites in both Arabic (www.aljazeera.net) and English (http://english.aljazeera.net/) (note it's .NET, not .COM). Read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aljazeera.com

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