Qatar Advances Plans To Privatize Al-Jazeera (WP)

[truthpusher]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49759-2005Jan30.html

Qatar Advances Plans To Privatize Al-Jazeera
U.S. Has Criticized Arab TV Network

By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 31, 2005; Page A16

The government of Qatar is pushing forward with plans to privatize al-Jazeera, the popular and controversial Arab television network that has often drawn the ire of U.S. administration officials, a network spokesman said.

Details of the plan are yet to be worked out and await a feasibility report that should be completed in coming months, said Jihad Ballout, a spokesman in the Qatari capital of Doha. Al-Jazeera is highly popular in the Arab world but has repeatedly drawn criticism from the Bush administration about its coverage of the war in Iraq and other hot-button issues in the Middle East.

Pressure from U.S. officials has caused the government of Qatar, which bankrolls al-Jazeera, to accelerate the spinoff, according to a report yesterday in the New York Times, which quoted an unnamed senior Qatari official.

more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49759-2005Jan30.html

[hector459]

1. No more free press anywhere. That's the US way to control the message.

Is Murdoch going to buy this too?

[GetTheRightVote]

2. I love any paper, etc, which cause *co to be upset

:kick:

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Is this to be another charm on the bracelet of Rupert Murdoch?

That way the U.S. can get its message out without any "disortion" to the "natives" (read, manipulation of the truth, outright lies, etc.)

[aikido15]

4. What the fuck?

Are you kidding me? It's THEIR news from THEIR country and US is going to fucking abuse THEIR free press also? This is unreal.

I can see why we are so hated around the world because I HATE US ALSO!

FUCK THIS.