ALJAZEERA HARASSED IN AFGHANISTAN

The New York Times reports:

“The security contractors working for the American military detained the three Al Jazeera employees as they filmed from across the street from the United States military headquarters in Kabul.

“Al Jazeera’s Kabul bureau chief, Samir Allawi, said the three men were a journalist, a cameraman and a driver who were filming barricades on the civilian side of the road opposite the American headquarters, to illustrate the issue of the presidential decree.

“They were detained for six hours, handed over to the Afghan police and eventually released without charge, but their equipment, including the camera and mobile and satellite phones, was seized by American troops, Mr. Allawi said.

An American military spokesman, Lt. Mike Cody, said the security forces had evidence that the men had filmed “security features” of the headquarters, which is forbidden by a sign at the entrance to the base. “The security personnel dealt with it in the manner they thought appropriate,” he said.

TRACKING CONSERVATIVE KATRINA COVERAGE

Bradley Laing has been following aspects of the coverage”

”Ray Nagin was on the CBS sunday morning news show: although I could only find a conservative blog or two that mentioned Yesterdays show, the NewsBusters (MRC) website just ignored it, despite having plenty of other things to say.

Significance: I think there was a distinctive pattern to right-wing opinion about New Orleans

“First, blame the victims of a flood because you fear that “they” are breaking out of their confined area and will spread social chaos.

“Secondly, blame Ray Nagin and “the media” because the chaos in New Orleans did not spread, but was caused by welfare dependency and other “liberal polices.”

“Thirdly, stop blaming Nagin, but shift the blame to “the media” and Celebrity Kanye West–but only for suggesting that Bush and the federal response to katrina had anything to do with race.

Interest in the evacuues has been almost nil on the few conservative blogs I can find (I haven’t read all of them), even though there have been plenty of cable news human interest stories about their situation. No article has appeared about the burden on places where evacuues relocated to”

RELATED NEWS: Threatened New Orleans Tenants Fight Evictions http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2630

GUMA GOES TO PACIFICA

Media: Greg Guma, editor of the Vermont Guardian and former editor of Toward Freedom. has been named the new Executive Director of the Pacifica radio stations.

PBS TIGHTENS UP ON SOME FOR SALE PROGRAMS

The South Florida Business Journal reports:

“The Public Broadcasting Service is making clear it has no relationship with a business show hosted by actor Michael Douglas or 11 video production entities, which The Business Journal found are mostly located in Boca Raton.”

These shows tend to sell stories with a claim that they will be seen on PBS. Prominent personalities like Walter Cronkite and ex CNN anchor Aaron Brown have been tangled up in this scandal and had to sue to disassociate themselves from the program.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10680066/#storyContinued

Speaking of PBS, check this out. It’s a hysterical send up of the historical films by Ken Burns that PBS and sponsors like General Motors love. This satire purports to be the story of the first black space program. It’s an I movie.
http://forums.ifilm.com/posts/list/5065.page

ARE CARS BURNING IN PARIS?

Frank Meagher, Mediachannel’s man in Paris, reports:

”French newspaper, Liberation, quotes a good news report by French police that this year only 425 cars were burned nation wide during the New Years eve ritual. The previous annual car burning count was 333. Increase of police on patrol (25,000 vs 21,000 last year) several helicopters, specially equipped with searchlights and cameras, resulted in 362 suspects questioned (272 last year). “Law & Order” Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who’s remarks sparked off the recent “riots”, was shown on the TV news riding with the air patrols and visiting police headquarters congratulating the commanders with a job well done. In fact during the much publicized “riots” of Oct 27 -Nov 21 a total of 10346 cars were torched. Do the math, that works out to average of 398 per night. The official spin calls this annual event “relatively calm”. Spin may be more contagious than bird flu?”