wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

To Burt #3, stop being such a name dropper. It makes you sound like such a liberal. Once you mention Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly in your post, people assume you are an idiot and don't bother reading the rest of your post. See what I mean?

Re: "Kids are going to roll their eyes that the grown ups are again not getting it". Kids themselves will get it later. They will discover that buiding real communities is much more complex than building virtual ones. That friendship and love relationships rely in a large measure on non-verbal communication, recognizing body language and suble shifts in facial expression. That taking care of a real child involves a lot of skills they can't learn with TV or computer games.
Another point is that our physiology hasn't changes in millions of years and all the opinions of different computer experts about developing "a different kind of brain" reflect a simple lack of understanding. Our brains still work off of sensory input and malfunction when the input is limited. Many brain functions and learning skills are governed by our balance system, which you can only develop by moving and playing physically. Hence the increase in all kind of learning disabilities reported by a multitude of specialists. Kids don't know all of that, but we, the grown ups do. So let's get them away from the screens for at least a few hours a day and get them involved in real play and expolration.

I do believe that dialogue between diverse people can help foster constructive change. However, consciousness alone cannot solve social problems. At least part of the root causes of major social problems is based in material things like: class, markets, labor, governmental structures, and private profit.

This dialogue is mainly a sad example of useless liberalism( with the exception of the reform of high teacher pay which could materially change the social equation ). Although the book's title refers to action this segment appears to me as useless liberalism, because, it seems premised on the notion that social conditions today are malformed because of misinformation. The truth is they are malformed because someone/some class with power, believes it is benefiting from this formulation

This dialogue is trying to take on the reality that this generation will be more poor than their parents( in terms of median standard of living in the USA )without recognizing the main cause of this has been the transfer of production from the USA to other, low wage countries, for the benefit of the capitalist class, at the expense of the working class.

Similarly, Mr Lehrer...My God...did you really just have a US supported middle eastern monarch on your show, without asking her about the relationship between the middle eastern conflict and the lack of opportunity for self determination and democracy in that part of the world?

Your show is usually better at looking at culture, ideas, and MATERIAL CUASES. Please return to this discipline in the future. I love your show.

It is unfathomable that Queen Noor, when asked what she herself was doing against the anti-Semitic rhetoric in her home country, replied that there is also anti-Islamic rhetoric in Israel. Like the commenter, she was educated at Princeton, and knows that her answer was pure BS. How could Brian Lehrer not follow up the question (with the same question, since she failed completely to address it)?

The real question should be -- if I walked into a Jordanian 5th grade class studying regional geography, would I see the word "Israel" on their maps, or would it say "Occupied Palestine"? I'm not referring here to the West Bank or Gaza; I'm talking about Tel Aviv. If the Queen was really dedicated to world peace, that might be a sensible starting point.

Brian, You seem often to hesitate on the question of anti-semitism. Queen Noor seemed to avoid the question. As well, the Arab world are the sworn enemies of the US, why is it that the onus should be on Americans to learn about Islam? I don't think that Americans, willy nilly just hate Arabs (I don't mean irrational extreme right wing people). I rarely hear anything about Arabs having to learn more about the West and why it might be a good thing if an innocent cartoonist in the netherlands is left alone, why freedom of speech is a worthwhile thing, and something about the history of Jewish suffering.

To Mr. Swansom,

Individual attitudes are completely separate from institutional ones, which Brian was asking Queen Noor about. There is no comparison between any alleged Israeli institutionalized anti-Arab sentiment and the widely-reported institutional anti-Semitic hatred on the part of the Palestinians and the most of the Arab world.

I knew Queen Noor was incapable of clearly acknowledging much wrong-doing on the Muslim side of the extreme hate mongering toward Jews. Nothing can be corrected unless it is acknowledged to the degree it exists by the side that perpetrates it and then just as strongly condemns it.

If Brian Lehrer is going to raise the issue of anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic hate speech in Arab countries, decency and honesty demand that he also raise the issue of anti-Arab, anti-Muslim hate speech and racism in Israel.

Several polls have confirmed the virulently anti-Arab sentiment in Israel. *Most* Israeli Jews say they do not want to live near Arabs. Members of the Knesset like Avigdor Lieberman and Benny Begin (son of terrorist and late PM Menachem Begin) have expressly called for actions that by ANY reading of international law would constitute crimes against humanity.

Then there are the decades of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.

To the Brian Lehrer Show,

Queen Noor completely evaded Brian's question regarding hate speech against Israelis and Jews on the part of the Arab world by trying to generalize via a "both sides do it" statement.

Can Queen Noor provide any examples of institutionalized hate-speech from either the state of Israel or its people?

The inclusion of that kind of evasion completely devalues that book the other guests are trying to promote. Lord knows, I'll not buy it now.

on teaching. think for a moment. how many teachers are involved with the education of a child? now, which teacher is responsible?
see the problem, yet?

hello queen noor. i remember you when you were a high school classmate of my sister.

cheers, ted

My 15 yr. old son did not grow up with a TV in the house and rarely played on the computer or communicated electronically, but WNYC was always on in the background. He is currently a high honors student with knowledge of the world far surpassing most adults. However he has recently joined the rest of teenagers in viewing TV, text etc. online, and I;ve noticed the change in that blank look Mr. McKinnon mentioned of 2 yr. olds staring at a TV set on my son's otherwise animated being. It's as if magically when there is something to watch/stare at he simply turns off all conscious thinking and doesn't sense any human interaction!

Get those $100K teachers in that school from the earlier segment where so many of the students live in the shelter system. Then lets see what works.

Re: teacher's salaries. Note the financial sector's endless refrain that they must pay these extraordinary salaries to keep "the best and the brightest".

Now, who contributes more to America's well-being overall, hedge fund managers, or, dedicated teachers?

There couldn't be a better indicator for what is fundamentally rotten in our society.

Teachers in NY get paid really well especially in Westchester and Long Island. It hasn't necessarily improved the quality of teachers we have.

I am really struggling with my two year old and the TV and my i phone - he is constantly asking to use my phone - to play games and watch Videos. I think as a parent what happens is that we use these things to get a break or get a moment - and then it grows or gets it's own momentum -

Queen Noor's best gift to the next generation could be to fight hatred in the region of her adopted country. Virulent anti-Semitism is being propagated in Arab countries and Iran. A big-budget TV program in Egypt promulgated the blood-libel lie, and the Protocol of the Elders of Zion are available in a number of Middle East countries. How is she saving the next generation of Arab and Iranian Muslims from that hatred and the violence that derives from it?

Screen time is NOT better today. In fact when I watch my nieces and nephews they want to watch repeats of Full House on Nickleodean. Kids sit and stare at TV and computer games just like they always have.

Talk about screentime! I used the overhead projector in my classroom for almost 90% of instruction. 26 pairs of eyes focused on one screen with all types of color-coded, graphic variated overlays. It was common sense to hold attention!!!!

Anti-Muslim hate speech is NOT only found underground in the US.

Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, several members of Congress (including Joseph Lieberman) have repeatedly expressed the most hateful anti-Muslim sentiments.

Meanwhile, it must be said again that Queen Noor's late husband was instrumental in perpetuating the anti-Palestinian policies of the Jordanian government. Palestinians form an ethnic MAJORITY in Jordan, but they are grossly discriminated against in Jordanian law.

Queen Noor and her husband’s government is essentially run by US Pentagon/ State Dep. and of coarse last but not least Israel. I am sure that the Hashemite family of Jordon is hording billion in foreign banks for that moment when their corrupt rule ends.

While Queen Noor is commenting on rights, maybe she will offer some comments on the treatment of Palestinians in Jordan, which systematically denies Palestinians equal rights.