Joined: 11-06-2004 Posts: 60,098
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jackconrad wrote:WASHINGTON (AFP) – A top US public radio network has sacked a senior news analyst after he made disparaging remarks about Muslims on television.
National Public Radio (NPR) said it notified Juan Williams late Wednesday that it was terminating his contract as a senior news analyst for NPR News.
Williams was fired just two days after he made a Fox News Channel appearance during which he agreed with a television host that the United States was facing a "Muslim dilemma."
On his show "The O'Reilly Factor," host Bill O'Reilly said: "The cold truth is that in the world today, jihad, aided and abetted by some Muslim nations, is the biggest threat on the planet."
Williams, who is also a political analyst for Fox News, said he concurred with O'Reilly, adding: "I think, look, political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don't address reality."
The analyst said he felt nervous when boarding planes with Muslims on board.
"I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country," Williams said.
"But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."
NPR said in a statement that Williams's remarks were "inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR."
It thanked Williams for his many years of service as a "valuable contributor" to NPR.
"We did not make this decision lightly or without regret," it added. "We regret these circumstances."
Complete and utter 100% bullchit. I listen to NPR. They are lucky (for the moment) they just completed their $1,000,000 pledge drive, as they likely 'ucked up their Federal funding if the elephants can take back congress.
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