Oh, God damn it, God damn it, God damn it

[WilliamPitt]

ARAB TV EVICTED?

In Baghdad Monday, the U.S.-picked Governing Council voted to evict to Arab satellite broadcasting companies from Iraq, said Iraqi National Congress spokesman Entifadh K. Qanbar. The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera and Dubai-based Al-Arabiya have given blanket coverage of events in Iraq, often highly critical of the U.S.-led occupation of the country.

American administrator L. Paul Bremer, who chose the 25-member council, holds a veto over its actions, but he is in Washington testifying before Congress about the Bush administration’s request for $87 billion next year to support the military and reconstruction effort in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We have not been advised officially of such a decision. Our office is still open, our people are still working. It’s business as usual,” Al-Jazeera spokesman Jihad Ballout said in Qatar.

In Dubai, an Al-Arabiya spokesman said he had heard nothing about the vote and would have no comment until the network received official notification.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/870749.asp?0cv=CA00&cp1=1

OK, yeah, I'm down to looking to Al-Jazeera for a hard look at what is happening in Baghdad. The 'CNN of the Mideast' has several large axes to grind, and their coverage is massively political and biased, but they are also not wholly owned subsidiaries of companies getting paid to blow shit up in Iraq.

In other words, if this is true, we have fewer eyes on the ground over there. Bad thing all around.

[lindashaw]

1. For my news, I go first to Al-Jazeera, then 3 Arab newspapers...

[stickdog]

2. That damned maverick Chalabi!

How will he defy Bremer next?!?

[Spentastic]

3. Fox News Iraq?

I was about to post a separate topic but this is close enough to make the discusiion worthwhile.

How bad is it in Iraq?

Our media at best alludes to 10 - 15 attacks daily against occupying forces. This is itself significant and I'm not belittling those being maimed and killed, but it is hardly a country rising up against U.S forces. Is the current level of resistance a calculated tactic to slowly bleed the U.S forces to death? Are the media sensationalising these events so that when (if) they stop, die down success can be claimed. WMD seem of no import any longer. I firmly believe the U.S will claim success if people stop capping their troops.

Reconstruction - is any actually happening? There were reports of contractors going AWOL due to security fears. Is anything other than Oil infrastructure being fixed? What is the standard of living of the average Iraqi?

Regional differences - What is going on in the Kurdish areas? What are the Shiites doing? All we seem to here about is the Sunni triangle. I note that attacks seem to take place all over the country.

Basically I'm concerned that we can't make informed decisions because we are being denied information. Are we engaging in quagmire hyperbole? Or is the situation so bad that the administration will do anything to cover it up?

Without an independent media we'll never know.

[NewGuy]

18. Bremer testified before congress the other day

He says we have basically restored the oil fields, restored water, and will have electricity to pre-war levels within the week. Not a bad effort considering right here in the USA, delivery time for large transformers can run to 8 - 12 weeks.

Of course this is not a full restoration of the countries capability, it is just restoration to pre-war levels. A lot of degradation of capability will have occured during the embargo as well.

[mandyky]

4. So much for that FREE press they have been

bragging about for months.

And then there is OUR (we in the US) right to know what is going on unvarnished.

[LiberalVoice]

6. Reconstuction?

With all the spinning bush and his cronies are doing its hard to understand let alone come up with some sort of solid answer on what progress(if any) there making in Iraq. But, come to think of it i havent heard of ANY reconstrucion being done except for where oil is concerned.

A bit off topic. I thought it was funny that The Israelis were bulldozing the houses of family members that accepted almsot $25k dollars from Terrorist Organizations for there sons/daughters participating in suicide bombings. While the U.S. government is offering $2500 dollars for the killings of the 11 Iraqi police officers who were killed by Coalition troops.

[WilliamPitt]

7. Welcome to DU

:)

[izzie]

11. Sould like the blood money they gave Dyer.

Old story fron the Raj in India out of some History book, Gen, Dyer killed about 1000 Indians who he had herded into a pace they could not get out and killed most of them. I guess he was put out of the army so the the English gave him a lot of money and the Indias got like 100 for each dead and he got like 1000 for each one he killed.I do not recall the name of the place but I have meet Indians that still bring it up.We our selfs could look at the Indians for the same type of treatment in this country.I do not read to much on it any more as I get to up set.

[ablbodyed]

14. I think it was the....

Black hole of Calcutta.
But hey, if those people had lived, how much bigger would the population of India be today? /satire/

[izzie]

28. very good but did you know this.....

After every war the pop gets bigger. Well I find that odd we kill off so many.

[newyawker99]

21. Hi LiberalVoice!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[PATRICK]

23. Reminiscent of Southern Reconstruction

after the Civil War, Radical Republican style. Seize the economy. let the people suffer, install hated puppets among whom unfortunately are genuine Iraqi moderates who would be needed for an honest nation building process, take away their right to self-government, control and rape the economy. Occupy. Forced withdrawal and civil liberties for blacks withdrawn for a century.

By the way, are there any Southerners with fond memories of the last extemist Republican healing reconstruction?

[IndianaGreen]

8. Paul Bremer has been shutting down newspapers

because they were critical of US Occupation. Iraqis are no more free today than they were under Saddam, and women are substantially less free.

[alphafemale]

5. This will backfire. Major blowback will result from this.

Incredibly stupid move.

You are free because we say you are. Now shut up.

gawd

[nolabels]

50. This will be a nail that shuts the door on any truth that was left

Every story and thing that is ever told can now become perceived fact even if is an outrageous lie. This reasoning simply from the fact billions of people that get some or a lot of their news from there and will now be shut out but will still be looking for it.

The spiral does get quicker everyday

[bearfartinthewoods]

9. the news i heard said they were to be banned for 30 days for inciting

violence.

[WilliamPitt]

10. Truth has a way of pissing people off

On the other hand, if they were broadcasting "Kill the Americans," I'd have a substantively different opinion.

[Spentastic]

12. Yes but what if

A democratically elected regime wanted their media to publish the same? Would you invade them?


Ooops there we are back at square one.

[TorchTheWitch]

13. really stupid move

"You are free because we say you are. Now shut up."

Well, for the last several years that's the same line we get right here in the good ol' U.S. of A... which is even more sad.

For my news I go to sites made by actual soldiers and civilians right in the sandbox. Without the Internet we'd really be in an informational black hole.

[ablbodyed]

15. Got some links?

Please post them. Thanks

[TorchTheWitch]

26. no problem

http://www.dearraed.blogspot.com/
http://www.riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
http://geeinbaghdad.blogspot.com/
http://www.iraq-today.com/index.html
http://ishtartalking.blogspot.com/ (arabic and english)
http://lettersfrombaghdad.blogspot.com/
http://soldiersparadise.blogspot.com/
http://www.turningtables.blogspot.com/

these are just the ones i have bookmarked, but pretty much all these sites have lists of other ones, too

[dbt]

16. Frankie say 'Relax.'

As a direct Result of Bremer's actions, the credibility of al-Jazeerah and al-Arabiya will get a temendous boost in the eyes of all Iraqis.

Conversely, the perception of Americans as imperialist occupation forces bent on the utter control and subjugation of Iraq becomes reality.

NOTE TO REGIME: Remember to shoot self in other foot to complete the process.

:evilgrin:
dbt

PS: To be highly critical of US policies in Iraq, one has only to tell the truth abut those policies.

[Q]

17. Once in a while...

...how about an informative or descriptive title? You read like the friggin' Enquirer.

- Incidentally...since you won't see it THERE: please think twice about disrupting the threads of other posters...even if you think they're stupid. I counted seven or eight of your one line posts on a single thread where you do nothing but taunt the thread author. You should lead by example because you would blow a gasket if someone did that to your threads.

[WilliamPitt]

20. And again, Q

You should read the thread you're so piously defending. It was a stand-up comedy routine by A-Schwarzenegger, period. Everyone willingly played his 'straight man' because people are so ready to brawl around here that they can't see it when they're getting gamed. I found it fucking hilarious, and your entry made it an all-time classic.

[Q]

24. I'm not defending the thread...

...but the poster's right to start a thread without it being disrupted by those who don't like the content.

- Comon...you're better than this.

[WilliamPitt]

27. No

Apparently I'm not.

:)

[Q]

29. Sure you are...many DUers respect you and your writing...

...and once again...you should 'lead' by example.

- Contributing to the 'free for all' attitude only encourages others to follow.

- How about just not posting to threads like that? Let em drop like a rock instead.

[WilliamPitt]

31. Heh

I put it to you that if I were to EVER call myself a leader around here, about a thousand people whould swarm up and kick the shit out of me. That having been said, we 'leaders' like to have some fun on occasion. If it happens to be at the expense of a poster who is deliberately trying to be funny, and at the expense of other posters who cannot get out of their own way long enough to avoind looking foolish, then so be it. I take my sport where I can find it.

[Q]

33. Leaders don't have to call themselves leaders...

...but I've never considered you such anyway.

- That you missed the point is obvious...and I have to wince at your reference of making 'sport' of other posters to get your rocks off. I hope you don't mind the same thing when YOU start 'foolish' threads...which is more often that you'd like to admit.

- Anyway...thanks for playing our home game.

[WilliamPitt]

34. Oh I do it all the time

and aren't you disrupting *my* thread with this? Funny stuff.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WilliamPitt]

37. Hopefully you'll get the chance to say that to my face someday

Internet tough guy.

[Spentastic]

41. This is funnier than the other thread

I'll promote this event.

Will' do you have a limit to the number of people that you are willing to take on?

The big new PPV event. When liberals go wild.

Actually I'm well into this now. We could have Tag team actions. FlaGranny and Will vs Egnever and Q.

Followed by Jiacinto vs just about everybody else here.

Clarkies V Deanies winner stays on to fight Kerry supporters who then get to beat the shit out of a Lieberman supporter.

[WilliamPitt]

42. Apparently not

Taking all comers! Anonymous online tough guys a specialty! :)

[VelmaD]

43. Hey Will...

wanta wrestle? ;-)

DV

P.S. How the hell do you do it man? Sometimes I think you could post "The sky is blue" and a flame war would break out. :-)

[WilliamPitt]

44. My magic touch

:)

[FlaGranny]

38. It's a lot of fun, I guess,

to ridicule someone who works his tail off to get out progressive messages isn't it? Heaven forbid that person is also good enough at it to earn a living doing so. Hell of a bad thing for a Democrat to do.

Edit: fixed a sentence

[bicentennial_baby]

48. Do you always use violence against people you don't like?

How very progressive of you...

:puke:

[blondeatlast]

30. You missed the point of that thread entirely. Can you say:

D E L I B E R A T E?

The guy is too good, are you an alter ego of his?

[joycep]

19. I had the same reaction when I saw this

I sure don't like it at all.

[ikojo]

22. When are the Democrats going to make this a

campaign issue? There is serious need for an opposition party in DC. Instead of attacking one another the Dems need to bring all of this stuff out in the open for all to see not just a few who, like me, are addicted to DU.

[Skittles]

25. is that part of the PNAC plan?

sounds like it

[leftchick]

32. the wedding story....

just saw this on Yahoo....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030923/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_denial&cid=540&ncid=1480

<Snip>
<U.S. Denies Firing at Iraq Wedding Party
19 minutes ago


BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military has denied that its soldiers fired on a wedding party in Fallujah on Sept. 17, killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding six others.



"There was no (U.S. military) unit where this supposedly occurred," military spokesman Lt. Col. George Krivo said at a briefing Monday.>


They won't have to deny anything anymore with no media there to refute them. God only knows what they will get away with now. Bad news, indeed... :(

[Starpass]

35. This has been on their agenda for months

I remember a piece done on it - they want to establish an American puppet Fox news like media over there so they can tell the people "how good it is" and, of course, they don't want some damn other Arabs telling them how good it ain't. It would be a wonderful place for our own media whores----a virtual paradise for them because nasty truthful news could be completely ignored!!! And they think the Iraqis won't notice-----well actually I guess those Iraqis are kind of really stupid ignorant people because they were clueless about the throwing flowers on the tanks thing.........But, now I'm sure that the new propaganda news controlled by Americans will have a Baghdad Martha Stewart showing them how to tastefully and effectively throw those flowers.

[Seneca]

39. it seems inevitable in hindsight

Things going badly for the PNAC'ers, and since control of the media means control of the propaganda, er, news, it seems a foregone conclusion that there would be a winnowing of the coverage in the field, and most understandably, from those "hostile" to U.S. ends there.

Goddammit, indeed.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

40. yup!!! Iraq now has American style Freedom..Iraq is now officially the

51 US state!

[realFedUp]

45. You should go over there Will.

We don't want you in harms way, but you'd be a good
set of eyes and ears there....think of the Pulitzer :-)
Maybe get hired first by a major newspaper to pay
your way...

[WilliamPitt]

46. Definitely thinking about it

Then again, going over there as an indy journalist might be like jumping into a shark tank with a pork chop tied around my neck.

[paulk]

47. it is my understanding that the governing council doesn't have the

authority to do this - that Bremer holds veto power. And that al jazeera is still operating. Aren't we jumping the gun here?

[Vis Numar]

49. censorship

the last refuge of the dictator.