Kieran Healy

Heavy Traffic

A passing mention from Cursor.org led to more than 20,000 hits, or about 7,000 unique referrals, from that site yesterday. I hadn’t heard of Cursor.org before. They’re worth checking out.

Actually, no one heard of cursor.org before but we all landed there when we try to read al-Jazeera on the net and are unable to do so because of:? heavy traffic? hackers? some intervention from somewhere? i still hope it’s just the former. But it’s funny to look for alJazeera in search engines. I first found a mega bible study site (aljazerra.com), a petition against al-Jazerra TV (petitiononline.com or sth.) etc. watch the double rr … it all get mixed up quite a lot… then, actually I found a site arab2.com which framed the media watch campaign by cursor.org and which is still framing your blog here right now. cursor.org also had quite a good article by “New York” columnist Wolf that is worth a read.
Did anyone found sites that mirror al-Jazeera? If so, could you please post them to divert traffic from english.aljazeera.net???Thanks.

• fascinated by the CNN GETS A DOSE OF ITSELF freeway *

One hundred and twenty eight posts in the comments section, and still counting…

If you have not already read this CNN report, it gives some insight into the al-jazeera dichotomy.
al-jazeera cnn 2003 03 25

Regards

If you have not already read this CNN report, it gives some insight into the al-jazeera dichotomy.
al-jazeera cnn 2003 03 25

Regards

The much vaunted freedom of speech that is the internet (supposedly!) has proved incapable of allowing access to one small news gathering Arab station Al Jazeera. So who is blocking this ‘uncontrollable source of information’….well it wont be Saddam Hussein butI dare say the US NSA and UK GCHQ could tell us a thing or two……

Americans break all the rules. They go to war. Their soldiers get killed, they get seized by their enemies. Now, the americans mumble, they cry, they shout, they blame, violation of some conventions and shits like that.
Shame on you. War is war, there’s no rule. Iraqi’s got the full right to defend themselves. They wear military uniform or casual, they mingle among civillians or fight separate, they fight guerilla or regular, they use guns or they use slings, all they are supposed to do is shoot their enemy soldier’s head, defend their country.
American make blunders, strikes civillians. They don’t realize their mistake, they are ashamed, they cry, they shout, they blame iraqi’s instead.

Soon, the american soldiers will brutalize innocent iraqis, they’ll rape their wives and daughters, they’ll crush their children, kill their husbands, they’ll destroy the thousands year old city, they’ll steal their oil. But The iraqi’s won’t cry, they won’t shout, they won’t mumble, they won’t blame violations of this and that. Because iraqis will be mentally lamed by superior americans and their nuke bombs.

Shame on you Americans, shame on you

We said “This war is unjustified”

USA and Blair said “Saddam is killing and terrorising his own people, harbouring Al Quiada terrorists, making WMD, targetting WMD on Europe, (will be ready to unleash them in 45 minutes), is out of step with the rest of the World”

We said “Wrong”

USA and Blair said “We don’t care what you say we are going to war ”

They went to war, inflicted unannounced numbers of casualties on an ill-equipped army and civilians alike…totally failed to locate Saddam or his ‘ally’ Osama Bin Laden.

Now we have a runaway guerilla/fifth column rearguard taking revenge on the USA (who have more American dead in the ‘peace’ than in the war) and other European forces still remaining in Iraq. So much so, that Bush is desperately trying to offload the responsibility onto the UN who he dismissed as a spent force before his invasion. But he he wont cede military control (or the control of the Iraqi oil) to the UN. He just wants to ensure his own re-election and secure future oil supplies for America where domestic oil production has fallen dramatically in recent years.

We say “How about some humility and ….don’t laugh…an apology for getting it wrong !”

Actually, with reference to the first statement above:

“Saddam is killing and terrorising his own people…

That is about the only thing Western leaders DID get right

In case you were wondering why the Iraqis can’t be more helpful in our bringing them “liberty” let’s see why.
First we tell them to surrender, then we blow up their infrastructure, leaving them, defenseless, powerless, and then take over their oil fields while all hell is breaking lose in their cities.
We then tell them to turn in their guns or go to jail for a year.
With 75% unemployment we finally get their banks open .With check points telling them were to go and when to be home(or you will be shot like the 6 were, just a few Sundays ago for being a few minutes late for curfew), we slowly make progress.

Meanwhile with all the chaos lack of; power, water, jobs, WE TELL EVERY “Bad Guy” who’s got a beef with us to Damn WELL “BRING EM ON”!
Bush tells us not to worry; we would prefer Iraqi neighborhoods blown up, to our own.

Now if the roles were reversed and let’s say “Arabs” were doing this to the U.S. and EVEN IF it was in the name of “liberating” us from a “corrupt” Administration bought and paid for by “corrupt” (and some now, bankrupt) corporations, That was “an immediate” threat to the stability of the Middle East.
Well, I’ll just bet we wouldn’t have had to wait through the long hot summer without power now for the “Arabs” to be busting down the doors of “known Republicans”(particularly those of the “Baptist Party”), before some “good ole boys” took care of those “Arabs”. Regardless of which hole the Former President was holed up in and weather or not he was dead or alive.
Meanwhile the Iraqi’s biggest competitors (right next door in Saudi Arabia) are probably laughing their heads off at our stupidity. Giving their pet “projects” like the Hamas and AL Quiada a free publicity recruitment drive on how selfish and corrupt the “Great Satan” Americans are. All funded with the blood and tax dollars of yours and mine