War coverage blocked

You can say what you want about Al Jazeera, but it's had far more accurate Iraq War coverage than the major American media has.

Despite this, the only American communities where the English-language version of Al Jazeera is carried by local cable providers are Washington, D.C.; Toledo, Ohio; and Burlington, Vermont. Burlington's case is interesting because the city resisted calls by out-of-town censors to drop the channel. Meanwhile, I don't know of a single American cable company that doesn't carry Fox News Channel. (Gee, no bias there.)

This despite the fact that Al Jazeera's English-language service blankets over 100 other countries.

Al Jazeera's Gaza war coverage has also been acclaimed by observers for its accuracy and depth. It's one of few news organizations that reports on the war's civilian deaths at all.

But America's blackout of Al Jazeera continues - years after Al Jazeera's straightforward coverage of the Iraq War earned it condemnation by the Bush royal family and members of the Bush regime. In fact, the blackout had been urged by the Bush White House in the first place.

I know some chickenhawk is going to call me something really mean like an "unpatriotic patriotic bubble blower" (like that one clod who e-mailed The Last Word called me), but I guess that's the price I pay for not thinking the major American media has been trustworthy regarding recent wars.

(Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/business/media/12jazeera.html)