Aljazeera Camerman Arrested Again

[hang a left]

Salah Hasan arrived at the scene of explosions in Baquaba on Monday and was arrested only minutes later.

According to an Aljazeera TV spokesman, Jihad Ballut, Hasan was among several international journalists on the scene who were asked for their IDs.

"Hassan was the only one arrested. The rest were allowed to go," Ballut told Aljazeera.net.

The forces confiscated Hasan's camera and videotapes and transferred him to a US military camp. No reasons have been given for his arrest.

more

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CFAB8643-88CE-4DC9-80AE-D06A6DDA9858.htm

[AP]

1. WTF?

Yesterday I heard the spouse of reservist in Iraq on the radio. Her husband works on repairing radio stations. He says that he works with Iraqis. The US generals, he said, use the stations for propaganda. The Iraqis say it's not very different from when Sadam was in charge. They call one of the US officers "Little Sadaam" becauase his propaganda is especially familiar.

I also heard a British reporter talk about how, under Sadaam, there'd be an explosion in Baghdad, people would turn on the radio and TV to find out about it, and...nothing. Just like today.

He said that if something awful happens and reporters aren't there to cover it, it didn't happen. If they are there to cover it, they spin it as an anomaly.

He also said that he heard -- unconfirmed -- the the US doesn't report the deaths of people fighting for the US who don't have US passports. Apparently, they're using some loophole to underreport US casualties.

[hang a left]

2. sickening

[htuttle]

5. RE: Deaths of those without US passports

That would fit right in with the story a few months ago about the large number of US soldiers who aren't citizens yet. The estimated number of them was quite large -- in the thousands.

I had suspected as much.

[DuctapeFatwa]

7. I think this is referring to non-US commercial fighters, like in S America

some of them are from US and have US passports but it's not necessary, anybody from any country can go to work for Sandline or whichever company they are using in Iraq.

[On the Road]

10. Are We Using Corporate Armies?

I know they exist but I hadn't heard of them in connection with Iraq. Do you know which ones and how they're deployed?

[DuctapeFatwa]

12. About 10% of the troops in Iraq right now are commercials

All the ones in South America are, except for the "coverts."

I don't have a list of all the companies, but you can be sure that KBR gets its dime, most of them are bush regime henchmen cos, but how could they not be? Look at the PNAC sigs :)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

3. They must have thought that he had a copy of The Reagans

[hang a left]

9. tee hee

[Neutrino]

4. Aljazeera still managed to have good coverage of

todays explosions. Aljazeera remains the most dependable source
for coverage of the Iraq Occupation.

[leftchick]

11. You bet they did...Just saw Video of the Baghdad attack aftermath....

on Lou Dobbs show courtesy of Aljazeera! I did not see anything like it on msrnc!

[ConcernedCanuk]

6. No reasons have been given for his arrest. - no need, the US has GITMO

. . the world is not past making the comparisons of the Bush Admin to HItler and other Diktators

. . difference is, this is the "Age of Information"

. . Bu$h won't get away with it in the long run, but Junior will have caused millions of deaths before it is all over (sigh)

. . even when Bu$h is out of office, It would not surprise me that he sits back in glee -

"see daddy, look what I did - the world is going nuts ! "

Sad, but true

Just My Humble Canuk Opinion

[DuctapeFatwa]

8. The reason is, he was defying a cover ban

The regime has been very clear about media guidelines. Upbeat, positive, report attacks if unavoidable, but no photos or reporting of casualties, no matter what you see there. The regime will tell you the casualty number they want to go out for that day.