Al Jazeera International

I want to put in a much-deserved good word for Aljazeera. Because of the way most U.S. media operates, most of us think of Aljazeera as a scary, radical Islam-spreading news agency. I thought so too, until I saw... dun dun duuuun...a documentary about it. Shout-out to documentary makers! Republicans (and by republicans, I mean bad republicans like our do-nothing shitty congress and our crazy, idiotic president) must HATE documentaries, because the whole point of them is to tell the truth in pictures. Public radio does the same thing with soundbites. Those thorny rascals.




Anyway! Ben and I watched Control Room last weekend. It chronicles Aljazeera's coverage of the first month of our war with Iraq, and is an amazing and heartfelt film. It reveals that Aljazeera reporters are sensible and very highly educated, Aljazeera producers have incredibly high ethical standards, and that they are all wonderful, really cool people, to boot. Aljazeera does a kick-ass job of reporting, and everything is going relatively well for their coverage, except that the U.S. military is killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians (which actually upsets the Aljazeera reporters covering it) whose bodies Aljazeera shows on television. Then (get this!) the U.S. government is angry because Aljazeera is evoking anti-American sentiments by showing civilian casualties on TV. The worst, though, is when American planes bomb, BOMB, BOMB Aljazeera's and another Arab media source's locations in Baghdad. Two separate buildings, same day, and our government says, "It was an accident. Those reporters shouldn't be in Baghdad." One Aljazeera reporter was killed.

The good news is that you, too, can watch Control Room. The even better news is Josh, a really great young American military press guy, who is clearly genuinely conflicted by what he sees and hears happening around him. So, watch this movie and think about our responsibility to non-American human lives.

In more news, Aljazeera is launching Aljazeera International, an English channel, on Nov. 15th. We need to stop thinking of other news sources as enemies and begin to listen to people who disagree with us. I think there are many Americans who will be encouraged to hear that there are some out there who really care that thousands of Arab people have died because of our leaders. Here is more about Aljazeera from Aljazeera.net:

"Aljazeera has come a long way since it was launched in November 1996.

Free from the shackles of censorship and government control, Aljazeera has offered its audiences in the Arab world much needed freedom of thought, independence, and room for debate. In the rest of the world, often dominated by the stereotypical thinking of news “heavyweights”, Aljazeera offers a different and a new perspective.

Aljazeera's correspondents opened a window for the world on the millennium’s first two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our expanded coverage competed with and sometimes outperformed our competitors bringing into the spotlight the war’s devastating impact on the lives of ordinary people.

We continue to cover all viewpoints with objectivity integrity and balance.

Aljazeera.net English has been designed to attract readers from continents poles-apart. Not only does Aljazeera.net English offer a versatile content of news and information, but it also aims to be more interactive.

Our ultimate goal is to set up a more proactive relationship with our audience, where the audience is not simply a visitor at the other end of the line. They are and they will always be an integral part of the news reporting and news making process.

Our team of dedicated journalists with their multi-national education and diversified backgrounds share a common set of attributes: objectivity, accuracy, and a passion for truth.

Truth will be the force that will drive us to raise thorny issues, to seize every opportunity for exclusive reporting, to take hold of unforgettable moments in history and to rekindle the willpower within every human being who strives for truth."

Facts to keep in mind: Aljazeera is censored by some Arab states. It is only ten years old. Even if you disagree with everything that Aljazeera reports (which will be hard, because a lot of it is news) don't you want to hear what the "other side" is hearing?