I know I’m supposed to publish something interesting and important on Sundays. This week, I was supposed to publish a research paper about BRICS and the upcoming meeting in Kazan. But that did not get finished. Nothing important ever seems to get finished these days. But I’ve had a tough year, you know? Today I... Read More

Over the last couple days the Syrian army has moved into the Baba Amr district of Homs. The action is Syria’s Tiananmen. The Western shorthand for Tiananmen is “authoritarian regime reveals its true monstrous face to the world and its own citizens by trampling on helpless pro-democracy demonstrators.� Maybe so, but in the Chinese official... Read More

There is an emerging picture of an embarrassing dilemma for Turkey on Syria. Eager for regional leader cred and anxious to establish itself as an equal partner with the Western powers in the ongoing Middle East make over, Turkey got out in front in supporting the Syrian rebellion. Maybe too far in front. Western military... Read More

James Wolcott points out with some amusement that Fox News has deigned to take note of Al-Jazeera's fearless coverage of the Egyptian mass movement: Here's a piece I wrote back in 2008 on Al Jazeera's struggle to go mano-a-mano against the mighty anchors of Fox and the other media barons in North America: Tuesday, April... Read More

With Goldman Sachs finally feeling some pressure, it is an opportune time to look back at the scale of shock depicted in this October 2008 AlJazeera piece. Michael is one of the guests. See the second part here

Via the China media and politics site ESWN I came across a link to an interesting interview the Columbia Journalism Review did with Dave Marash. Marash is the U.S. reporter who left Al Jazeera International because of what’s described in journalistic shorthand as emerging “anti-American bias� at the network. Marash’s explanation is somewhat more complicated... Read More

Turkish officials and senior military officers are angry about the results of the Nov. 5 meeting in Washington between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President George W. Bush. An agreement was reached whereby the U.S. would not oppose Turkey’s plans to launch air strikes against the PKK in Northern Iraq whenever the Turks have... Read More

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently opined, "The Iraq conflict is a war of perceptions". His remark reflects his belief that events can be shaped simply by controlling the flow of information. Rumsfeld has been a major player in making sure that the Pentagon's world view is writ large in America's newspapers and TVs. He's also... Read More

There's a chilling scene in Jahane Noujaim's new documentary Control Room where an American F-16 is seen slowly turning in the sky over Baghdad. The plane arcs lazily in the blue sky and then quickly noses downward, following a straight line towards the building that houses the Al Jazeera news facility. In a flash, two... Read More