Jefferson Corner

Aljazeera International was launched last week with generous funding by the Emir of Qatar. I have to admit I am one of those living in the west for such a long time, who simply stopped watching US television and CNN with the exception of PBS when I am home.
From what I read in the press and reviews, Aljazeera International will be broadcasting 24/7 and promoted as the international satellite channel with a mission to bring the views of those long neglected by the US and western media.
Shortly after September 11, the New York Times, CBS and ABC, the German and Japanese televisions visited our house in Fairfax, Virginia to see where someone like me, and Arab-American, professional and a US Army veteran gets the news and of course it is from Aljazeera, certainly not Fox News or CNN.
My biggest complaint about the US and western media is the fact that it does not give fair coverage of the Palestinians under occupation, Israel’s continued occupation, its destructions of entire town and villages and uprooting of trees and its failure to cover the crimes of Israel and its crimes of occupation and give coverage only to the “innocent” Israeli victims and its captive soldiers and never mention the more than 10,000 innocent Palestinians hostages in Israeli jails. Even an organization like the BBC gives 5% coverage to the Palestinians while giving Israel 95% of its coverage.
One of the main reasons that I watch PBS is the in-depth coverage of major news, its independence of certain pressure political and religious lobbies and groups and most of its famous program “Front Line” There is no other similar program with such in-depth coverage of issues and topic. If I want to get my information right, I turn to PBS and watch Front Line and of course I do watch Aljazeera. These are my two souce of news, with Alarabia to follow.
Yes, it is time for Aljazeera International and yes, it is also time for people of the world to have a different perspective on the news from that of CNN, Fox and BBC, and yes, it is time for the news from Africa, Asia and the Middle East to be a focus of an international news organization and not simple sound bites.
The Arabs should have invested in such an international news organization some 20 years ago. However all is not lost and it is never too late. Israel and its Zionist agenda always have an open forum in US media especially Fox News and major newspapers and the Arab point of view hardly ever get a hearing. There is never fair coverage.
I am watching Aljazeera International now as I write this note, and all I can say, it is very professional and yes, it does give major coverage to Arab and Muslim issues and yes, there is nothing wrong with that and yes it is time to challenge the primacy of the CNN.
I thank Qatar for the challenge it has taken to bring issues of concern by the people in the Middle East, Africa and Asia to the forefront and give the people of the world a different perspective on the news and issues coming out of the region. It is time for the people of Africa, Asia and the Middle East to tell their stories without going through censorship and without going through filters and too much editing by news editors sitting in New York, Washington or London and who can be fired at any time for taking Israel and its crimes on. News editors are always at the mercy of the Israeli lobby and serve its wishes.

Share This

Couple of days ago, the French Socialist Party, the last of Europe true socialist parties selected Segolene Royal as its candidate for next year French presidential election.
The selection of Segolene Royal by the 6,000 delegates over the former French prime minister Laurent Fabius and the former French economic minister Dominique Strauss-Khan means the French Socialist Party is serious about challenging and winning the next presidential over the presumed front runner and the candidate of the right, Nicolas Sarkozsy.
The French Socialist Party could not have done better and could not have selected a better candidate than Segolene Royal, who in her speech recognized the fact that France has changed and that France today is one of color, of diversity, and one where all French nationals regardless of their origin are French and are entitled the full right of citizenship, and that means the chance for a decent life and a chance for a good education.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant and a French mother was in Washington couple of weeks ago, giving support to the Republican Party and to George Bush and his NeoCons in their war in Iraq, in their war on terrorism and in their war in Islam. Nicholas Sarkozy who is presumed the front-runner over Dominique de Villepin, the French Prime Minister is the present minister of interior with responsibilities for domestic policies including police, immigration and of course opportunities for sons and daughters of immigrants like him. While other immigrants are left to rot by the French domestic policies, someone like Sarkozy was able to become minister of interior and lead the war against immigrants and immigration, and his strength within the right.
The French Socialist Party with Ms. Royal as its candidate will have a good a chance of winning the election if it is able to convince the majority of French that France did change and that France can regain its economic health and reform without sacrificing its ideals and freedoms. Ms. Royal is offering the French a clear choice between the agenda of the French left and that of the French right.
The US Democratic Party must offer US voters clear and distinct programs from that of the Republican Party. It is too bad that the Democratic Party since Bill Clinton was unable to come up with a clear agenda for America, not only failed to challenge Republican of their presumed monopoly over national and security issues, but gave up its rights to challenge George Bush and his Tel-Aviv mafia over their fraud and lies and reasons for going to war in Iraq. Worst yet, it was unable, for the last two election to chose other than “too stiff” Al Gore and “too pompous and stuffy” John Kerry and could not offer smart candidates and programs to challenge George Bush and his agenda of recreating a new American in his image and in the image of his NeoCons.
Perhaps the Democratic Party can learn something from the French and offer us voters a candidate with clear lines of black and white. We are too tired of too many gray lines in our domestic and international policies. The Democratic Party failed American when it voted with George Bush knowing that he, Dick Chaney and the Tel-Aviv mafia lied all the way to the war in Iraq. The Democratic Party needs a candidate like Ms. Royal who is offering the French a clear choice between left and right, making sure there is nothing to be ashamed of in being on the left and being a liberal.

Share This

Any one, whether Arab, Muslim, or American must wonder what in the hell is going on in Iraq not today but for the last 30 years. Iraq was a blood bath for over centuries ever since the days of the Umayyad Empire and nothing has changed.
Arabs who are familiar with Iraq will tell you that “only a dictator could ever rule Iraq” may be right. The Umayyad rulers tried to subdue Iraq some centuries ago and succeeded only when they send Alhajaj Yousef Althaqafi to rule Iraq. On his first sermon in Al-Kufa he stood there silent for few minutes and as expected, some of the believer sitting waiting to hear the new ruler started to throw small pebbles at Alhajaj who was diminutive in stature. The scene continued for few minutes until Ahajaj began his most famous sermon, which we as young students had to remember and recite. He called the Iraqis “hypocrites” who deserver severe punishment and he ended his sermon with the beheadings of few people and that was the only way for the Umayyad to subdue Iraq. Saddam sad to say followed the same advice of Alhajaj to the letter. The daily carnage and the savagery of the crimes and the daily statements coming out of Iraq, make so many others and me a believer that Alhajaj may have been right!
It is even harder to imagine that such sectarian crimes take place on a daily basis killing hundreds of innocent people every day. When one sees the daily statements made by many of the politicians, Shiite and Sunnis one has to wonder where were these people when Saddam ruled and was killing and murdering hundreds of thousands. The Sunnis and some of the Baathist Shiites were not only silent during this time, but also actively participated in Saddam’s killing machine. No one can convince me or any one that Saddam can carry on killing hundreds of thousands if not millions of Iraqis without the support of a large segment of society. The same is true of Hitler. He could not have carried his crime of murdering millions of Jews and others with the active support of substantial number of the German people. Too bad that the same Sunnis who now are speaking out about the murder of Sunnis where so silent for many years. I am not aware of one single Sunni leader who ever came out and publicly spoke out against Saddam and his crimes against the Shiite and the Kurds. (I invite corrections here).
It is also sad to see the Shiites who suffered so much under Saddam commit similar crimes against innocent Iraqi civilians. What is wrong with these people? It is so hard to even imagine that such killing is taking place on a daily basis in Iraq in 2006.
Why so much killing and why so much murder? Perhaps the Iraqis, both Sunnis and Shiites want to prove Alhajaj right? That Iraq as a nation could never be ruled by democratic means but instead must be ruled by bloodthirsty dictators. If this is the case then there is no reason to even have a country called Iraq, as the people and their leaders proved to be unfit and unqualified to rule and manage such a country. It is time for those with ‘blood on their hands” to step aside. George Bush and his Zionist mafia could not have chosen a worse model for implementing democracy in the Middle East.
The only way out of this blood bath and the only way out of the American military occupation and the only way to end the sectarian violence is to make Iraq a ward of the UN or some other organization and place it under a trusteeship, thus putting an end to the senseless and sectarian killings and murder, saving American lives and tax payers money and of course putting an end to the big fraud committed by Bush and his Tel-Aviv mafia.
It is sad and simply too bad that the Iraqi leadership, both Sunni and Shiite could not and is unable to rise up to the occasion and prove to the world that both Saddam and Alhajaj are wrong, that Iraq can be a peaceful democratic country and a model for others.

Share This