From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) Editorial | Daily Star, Lebanon | 1 July 2003 The Israeli government and its apologists are expert in the art of playing the martyr, especially when it comes to castigating any and all media outlets that fail even briefly to fawn over the Jewish state like lovesick teenagers. The latest target of the world's most fearsome "David" is the British Broadcasting Corporation, which recently re-aired a documentary about Israel's weapons of mass destruction programs.
From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) Aidan White | IFJ | 29 May 2003 To: Ariel Sharon Prime Minister Government of Israel Dear Mr Sharon, On behalf of the International Federation of Journalists, the world’s largest organisation of journalists’ groups, I express the sincere hope that the efforts being made to end the violence that has destroyed the lives of so many Israelis and Palestinians over the years will succeed in creating conditions for a lasting solution to the conflict in the region.
From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) Borzou Daragahi | AP/Salon.com | 40 June 2003 BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Faced with a freewheeling Iraqi media, the U.S.-led occupation authority is devising a code of conduct for the press, drawing protests from Iraqi journalists who endured censorship under Saddam Hussein and worry for their newfound freedom. Coalition officials say the code is not intended to censor the media, only to stifle intemperate speech that could incite violence and hinder efforts to build a civil society.
From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) Sean Penn | voice4change.org | 31 May 2003 In early October of 2002 -- when the radio sputtered and whined with accusations by the Bush Administration declaring a direct link between the terrorist activity of Al Qaeda and the brutal dictator Saddam Hussein; I was sitting beside my 11-year old daughter in a car. It continued, with charges that Hussein's Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction in violation of U.
From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) Chris Hedges | Common Dreams/Rockford Register Star | 21 May 2003 I want to speak to you today about war and empire. Killing, or at least the worst of it, is over in Iraq. Although blood will continue to spill -- theirs and ours -- be prepared for this. For we are embarking on an occupation that, if history is any guide, will be as damaging to our souls as it will be to our prestige, power, and security.
From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) YOCHI J. DREAZEN | THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | 8 May 2003 MOSUL, IRAQ -- The U.S. Army issued orders for troops to seize this city's only television station, leading an officer here to raise questions about the Army's dedication to free speech in postwar Iraq, people familiar with the situation said. The officer refused the order and was relieved of duty. The directive came from the 101st Airborne Division's commander, Maj.
From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) Peter Slevin | Washington Post | 26 May 2003 BAGHDAD -- Putting Iraqi television back on the air has proved to be no simple matter, from the electrical outages to the makeshift staff assembled in the postwar chaos. Telephones do not work, and news is hard to confirm. And then there is the dispute over the editorial influence of U.S. occupation authorities. The U.S. ambassador to Morocco, Margaret Tutwiler, was dispatched to Baghdad to polish and package the U.
From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) Saul Hudson | Reuters | 13 May 2003 BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S.-sponsored Iraqi television station began broadcasts Tuesday after complaining of American censorship, including efforts to stop it airing passages from the Koran, the Muslim holy book. At the start of what is being trumpeted as a new broadcasting era in a nation fed on a diet of state propaganda, Baghdad residents with electricity saw the Iraqi flag appear on their screens as a pan-Arab nationalist anthem played.
From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) Acting Head of News at Channel 4 and others | The Times | 14 May 2003 Sir, The Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, arrives in London on Wednesday and meets Jack Straw the next day. As the main news broadcasters in the UK we wish to express our outrage at the shooting of journalists by the Israeli Army. Twelve days ago we lost one of our most highly respected filmmakers when James Miller was shot through the neck as he filmed in the Gaza Strip (report, May 3).
From the www.monabaker.com archive (legacy material) BBC News | 4 May 2003 The killing of reporters in war zones should be made a new war crime after the death of a British cameraman in Gaza, campaigners say. James Miller, 34, from Devon, was shot in the southern troublespot of Rafah. Initial findings from an Israeli Defence Forces investigation into the affair indicate that the correspondent was shot in the back, with sources suggesting that he may have been hit by Palestinian gunfire.