# Al-Jazeera gets hacked! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 27, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616 "2003-03-27T21:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/41 "2003-03-29T00:32:45Z")
Al-Jazeera’s broadcast of Iraqi footage showing American POWs violated Geneva Convention regulations. They were pandering to their Arabic audience at the most degrading level, flat out, plain and simple. Who here is stunned that some American bit-pusher got offended by that and took retaliatory action? ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/42 "2003-03-29T01:00:54Z")
Yes, yes. All of this is well and good, but would somebody mind actually posting a link to the Al-Jazeera web-site? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/43 "2003-03-29T03:05:40Z")
[They’re back,](http://aljazeera.net/) but the english site is still down. ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/44 "2003-03-29T13:43:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\ ***ntucker** , I’ll ignore your insults and say that hackers were here first, we invented the term to describe people like us, and it was the mass media that corrupted it and forced us to invent a word for people who should, in a sane world, just be called criminals. > > Case in point: Do you call someone a nigger if they’ve displayed an aversion to that term? Do you refer to someone as a honkey or a spic if they’ve said those are the wrong words to use? Do you tell them they’re fighting a losing battle when they react to insults? Why or why not? > > Is it because of common decency? Why, then do I not deserve that? \*\* Am I the only one who sees the irony here? Cracker? Nigger? Also, why should I give a shit who invented what word. It is about as silly as calling a Star Trek lover a Trekker. You know, to distinguish themselves from those geek Trekkies. Back to the OP. If I did not know you weren’t from the rural Georgia flatlands, I would say you sound like a cracker to me. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/45 "2003-03-29T14:28:02Z")
Australian TV stations have been showing the footage of the US POWs. Does that mean those dumbfuck hackers\* should go fuck up their web sites next? \*Yeah, I said “hacker”. I use words that allow myself to best understood by the general English speaking population. I don’t use stupid terms to make stupid geeks feel better about themselves. or, as Dr Hibbert might say: “And Hillbillies like to be called ‘sons of the soil.’ But it ain’t gonna happen.” ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/46 "2003-03-29T18:09:07Z")
I’d just like to say that I’m a white male from Georgia who participates on the SDMB who occasionally smokes weed and like to pretend that I could H4xx0r if I wanted to. Does that make me the ULTIMATE DOPER CRACKER? ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/47 "2003-03-29T23:44:12Z")
It seems rather disingenous that America prides itself on freedom of speech, a free press and all these other things that help lead to democracy, yet when regions take baby steps towards them, unless it happens to parrot the USA 100% it gets hacked and the hacking is cheered. “I mean, those A-rabs couldn’t have a free press, they’re too primitive. So this obivously must be a propaganda channel and we must shut it down.” I didn’t see anyone in this thread espouse this view but I wouldn’t doubt it was on the mind of the hackers. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/48 "2003-03-30T01:45:19Z")
I missed the part where it said “America” hacked the site. :rereads: It didn’t say that. I’m not following what it is that you find to be disingenuous. ---
**Author:** ![AZCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@AZCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZCowboy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/49 "2003-03-30T02:04:56Z")
**The Scrivener** , how fluent is your arabic, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/50 "2003-03-30T03:05:29Z")
Hackermania, Hackerdom, Hackeritis, whatever, it’s gone international: A UK site: [http://www.hackeryoung.co.uk/](http://www.hackeryoung.co.uk/) A German/American site: > **[Hacker Motor GmbH](https://www.hacker-motor.com/)** > > Hacker Motor Brushless Motors An Italian site: [http://www.spaghettihacker.it/](http://www.spaghettihacker.it/) How to find 'em: [http://hacker-tracker.com/](http://hacker-tracker.com/) Spanish: > **[elhacker.NET](https://www.elhacker.net/)** > > Enseña lo que sabes, aprende lo que no. El conocimiento es poder. and finally, a Haunted House: [http://www.hackerhouse.com/](http://www.hackerhouse.com/) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/51 "2003-03-30T03:28:12Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by gex gex \* > Australian TV stations have been showing the footage of the US POWs. Does that mean those dumbfuck hackers_ should go fuck up their web sites next? No, but we might be able to hope they would have shown better judgement. > [@](#): > > … or, as Dr Hibbert might say: > > “And Hillbillies like to be called ‘sons of the soil.’ But it ain’t gonna happen.” Perfect, absolutely perfect. Crimeny, I love a good (and perfectly appropriate) Simpsons quote. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/52 "2003-03-30T03:42:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Raygun99 \* > \*\*It seems rather disingenous that America prides itself on freedom of speech, a free press and all these other things that help lead to democracy, yet when regions take baby steps towards them, unless it happens to parrot the USA 100% it gets hacked and the hacking is cheered. > > “I mean, those A-rabs couldn’t have a free press, they’re too primitive. So this obivously must be a propaganda channel and we must shut it down.” > > I didn’t see anyone in this thread espouse this view but I wouldn’t doubt it was on the mind of the hackers. \*\* Just because we believe in freedom of speech doesn’t mean we can’t be assholes to people who say stupid shit. If someone talks some shit to me in a bar and I am in a wrilley mood he’s gonna get bitch slapped. You can go ahead and say whatever you want under the guise of freedom of speech, just be prepared for backlash when you do. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/53 "2003-03-30T04:02:14Z")
This isn’t calling them assholes though. This is preventing them from saying anything, which is undemocratic in spirit. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/54 "2003-03-30T04:53:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > Case in point: Do you call someone a nigger if they’ve displayed an aversion to that term? Do you refer to someone as a honkey or a spic if they’ve said those are the wrong words to use? Do you tell them they’re fighting a losing battle when they react to insults? Why or why not? > > Is it because of common decency? Why, then do I not deserve that? So your taking offense at a term directed at someone else is analogous to someone taking offense at something directed at them? Unless you’re the one who did this, no one is calling you a criminal. If you’re going to make the leap from “This criminal is a hacker” to “All hackers are criminals”, that’s your problem, not anyone elses, because no one else is claiming that. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616/55 "2003-03-31T14:29:09Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Zenster_ > No, but we might be able to hope they would have shown better judgement. They were reporting the news. It was reasonable to show the footage, both to illustrate what all the fuss was about, and to provide a face to what those soldiers are going through. Are you telling me that US stations haven’t been showing it at all? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-gets-hacked/164616.md?page=2)