Al-jazeera on the government shutdown

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/10/destroying-government-2013103123810419741.html

This is an article published on the Arabic news site Al-Jazeera, which is based in Qatar but widely read in many other regions of the world. As such, it qualifies as a website from outside the United States, and its opinion on the US government shutdown is firmly on the side of the left wing, blaming the Republicans for wanting to destroy US government entirely. I think this is a hyperbolic position, and indeed reflects a large issue with US politics - that the two parties & their supporters are currently very divided and antagonistic towards each other, hindering cooperation. However, this article is largely representative of the general opinion towards the GOP outside the US - ever since George W. Bush, the world has been very hostile to the Republican party, and this article aptly highlights several of the reasons. "People's fortunes rise and fall, and all of us benefit when we break the fall of those who are most in need. Society is not just a collection of atomised individuals, and cannot be understood in purely individual terms." says the author - opposite the perceived stance of the GOP, which places emphasis on personal responsibility and "rugged individualism". Blame for racist or misogynistic policies in America is usually also directed at the Republican party - "Just as Obama is deemed not worthy to be president, leading to an endless parade of birther nonsense from conservatives, they have passed similar judgments against everyone who is not like them - women, minorities, immigrants, gays and lesbians, people without health insurance."

Qatar, interestingly, is not a very liberal country - it is in fact an emirate, which means it is under the absolute control of (in essence) a king. Despite this, the political views of its most read news network most closely align with those of liberal Europe. I wonder if its international readership (and writership, for that matter) are aware that their writings are giving money to this highly conservative regime.