NEW ALJAZEERA WEBSITE:
http://english.aljazeera.net/News

THEIR ANNOUNCEMENT:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/17B9CA05-C477-4881-AAE7-E0EE9E44985F.htm

ALJAZEERA ENGLISH GOES LIVE TODAY
BEHIND THE DEATH SQUADS
CHRONICLE THIS!

As they say when the Olympics convene, “Let The Games Begin.” A new Olympics gets underway today, the news Olympics, as the anglo-American hegemony of the big news cartels has for the first time a challenger in the form of well-packaged professional TV network.

AlJazeera goes on the air in English globally (but not yet in the USA) to offer another perspective on news of a world that is often screened out in our media. The Arabic language news channel that revolutionized news in the Arab World has just marked its tenth anniversary and become once again the world’s fifth top known brand.

Rory O’Connor and I assess these developments in a new Mediachannel video up later today.

LAST MINUTE NAME CHANGE

The Media Guardian reports:

Al-Jazeera’s English-language news channel has made a last minute change to its name before its official launch Wednesday, switching from al-Jazeera International to al-Jazeera English. It is thought the late change came about because one of the Qatar-based channel’s backers decided that the broadcaster already had an international scope with its original Arabic outlet and that the new offering should be named after the language it is broadcasted in.

AND REJECTION:

ComCast reportedly withdrew from talks Monday, leaving al-Jazeera without access to its 24.1m subscribers. ComCast is also the biggest provider in Detroit, which has the largest Arab-American population in the US.

There has been speculation inside al-Jazeera that ComCast was unsure about the channel’s editorial agenda, given the political sensitivity to perceived negative coverage of the Iraq war. ComCast said the decision was down to a lack of capacity, rather than politics.

Play that excuse again: “A LACK OF CAPACITY!”

Here’s how AlJazeera sees its achievements:

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/18416CDA-7896-4898-A51F-263DA61E9210.htm

AlJazeera marks the occasion with the launch of channel in English (not just a translation of the original) and soon with a sports channel, a documentary channel and their own CSPAN type special events channel.

For now, the rest of the world will be watching but not the American people. Why? The heavily monopolized cable industry can’t find any room in their multi-channel universe for the new kid on the block. Is it political?

Yes, in part, but beyond that, broadcasters know how critical so many Americans are of the news goo on the air and might leap to an attractive alternative. Is it any surprise than the industry that keeps blathering on about free choice denies it to a foreign based competitor even as the US networks long ago went global. While they condemn others blocking their access, they shamelessly block others.

TIME INTERVIEWS WADAH KANFER OF AL JAZEERA
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1559468,00.html

THE GUARDIAN IN THE UK PRAISES AL JAZEERA
http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1947963,00.html

What to expect from Al-Jazeera English?
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1947676,00.html

EXPOSE: DEATH SQUADS IN IRAQ

Death Squads Exposed: The reality of U.S. occupation Of Iraq

This Is A Must Watch - Channel 4 (UK) Video Investigation

This shocking film investigates the links between the death squads and high-ranking Shia politicians. It reveals how the Shia militia that these politicians control have systematically infiltrated and taken over police units and even entire government ministeries. It investigates how these units are closely linked to the death squads, indeed they often are the death squads. And the killers act with impunity — there’s little investigation into their activities.

Click to view
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15608.htm

Baghdad: The New Saigon?

By Patrick J. Buchanan

As the Democrats have now captured Congress, they assume co-responsibility for the retreat from Mesopotamia. Which is as it should be.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15614.htm

USG MOVING FROM OFFENSE TO DEFENSE

Michael Klare writes on Tom Dispatch.com

“For the past six years, the top officials in charge of American foreign and military policy have known how to play rough-and-tumble offensive football, but were simply clueless when it came to defense. However, just as every football team must, at some point, surrender possession of the ball and bring in its defensive specialists to stop the other team from scoring a touchdown, so the President has evidently at long last called for a changing of the guard. Far too late in the game, he’s finally decided to send the defense onto the field for Team America. This is Bob Gates’ historic mission.”

_http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=140248_
(http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=140248)

ELECTION WATCH

BRAD BLOG: DNC Sees Six Undecided U.S. House Elections Still to be ‘Winnable’, Planning Challenges; Legal Resources Being Gathered by National Party to Challenge Close Elections Where Dems Currently Trail

Other Candidates, Citing Concerns About Voting Machine Failures, Also Refusing to Concede Until All Votes Can Be Verified.

MOMMY KNOWS BEST - RUTH ROSEN
The US mid-term elections were a rejection of Bush’s macho politics of fear in favor of real family values
http://venus.opendemocracy.net/t/3580/38637/2486/0/

Michael Moore’s Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives
http://www.petitiononline.com/mmflint/petition.html

AN OUTSIDE VIEW: Walden Bello from the Phillipines
http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/3706

An Italian Perspective: “The show must go on”
By Gabriele Zamparini
http://www.thecatsdream.com/blog/2006/11/show-must-go-on.htm

Withdrawal yes–but not now.

“Even some vehement critics of the Bush administration’s policies believe that Iraq is not ready for the U.S. to withdraw.”

Http://www.nytimes.com