First they came for ConsortiumNews, and I did not speak out—

[Octafish]

412. SidDithers responded to a question I posed you.

I am sorry if that was not clear to you. I can understand how people may be by SidDithers of DU's response.

The question I posed to you was: Had you heard of Coleen Rowley before today?

You didn't respond, but the other poster did.

I don't enough about Al Jazeera to make an informed opinion as to where they fit in some media spectrum. I do know they publish information that corporate owned news largely ignore. For example:

Edward Snowden and Washington's revolving-door culture

The recent NSA leak reveals the disturbing extent to which the US' government and corporate sectors have merged.

Nikolas Kozloff
Al Jazeera, 12 Jun 2013

EXCERPT...

Snowden's company, which receives nearly all of its funding from the federal government, is in turn owned by private equity firm Carlyle Group. According to Forbes magazine, the Booz Allen sale has proven very lucrative for Carlyle, netting a whopping $2bn for the firm so far. A corporation known for its ties to insider politicians, Carlyle once employed none other than George Herbert Walker Bush as an adviser. His son George W, meanwhile, served on the board of directors of Carterair, an airline food company which was later acquired by Carlyle.

Private firms find big role in US spy programmes

It's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between the public and corporate sector in Washington, with Booz Allen employees routinely passing in and out of government. Take, for example, US National Intelligence Director James Clapper, a former executive at Booz Allen. Then there's George Little, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs at the Pentagon, who previously served as an intelligence and business consultant at Booz Allen.

Not surprisingly, such incestuous ties have raised concerns about excessive corporate influence. As early as 2006, the American Civil Liberties Union sounded the alarm bell about the company's growing surveillance profile, noting that Booz Allen had "been at the forefront of a push to increase information collection from the private sector by the government. Several Booz Allen vice presidents, for example, have publicly called for sweeping efforts in that direction, even if it means sacrifice by and regulation of private industry."

Who's running the drug war?

In the coming days, many will undoubtedly call for a scaling back of government contractors and a more thorough accounting on intelligence matters. It may not be so easy, however, to disentangle the thorny web of corporate influence. Indeed, Booz Allen's involvement in intelligence gathering may be just the tip of the iceberg. Not only does the company hold contracts with the FBI, but it also provides IT support to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). What is more, the US Air Force awarded Booz Allen a contract in 2011 to research and design joint operations between the US Northern Command and the Mexican military.

The Booz Allen agenda stands at odds with those of many Latin American nations, which have been calling for a different approach to the drug war. Exhausted by drug-related violence, some countries are arguing that it is time to adopt a less militaristic policy with a possible path to marijuana legalisation. The national security state and Booz Allen, however, have a lot to lose if the drug war abruptly comes to an end. Sounding the alarm bell, Booz Allen officials argue that terrorists and extremists might exploit the lawless Mexican border area and come into the US to launch attacks. Sceptical of such claims, the liberal Nation magazine remarks that Booz Allen is merely "questing much-sought-after but spurious links between al-Qaeda and South American narcotraffickers".

To really reform the intelligence apparatus, the public must first unravel and sort out the nation's Byzantine web of public and private spying interests.

CONTINUED...

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/06/20136128178530929.html

Another question for you: Do you think people in "Western" nations should read "Arab-owned" news media?