First it was RT. Now they are going after Al Jazeera

By February of this year, four Russian news agencies had been forced to register as 'foreign agents'.
So you kind of had to expect that Al Jazeera's days were numbered as well.

Foreign-owned media outlets that don’t always tow the line in the US could find themselves under dramatically increased scrutiny under the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with analysts predicting that al-Jazeera will be the first news media outlet to fall victim.
The NDAA provisions were designed by groups openly hostile to al-Jazeera, and are aimed at forcing the news outlet, and others, to register as “foreign agents” because of their ties to overseas governments, and especially because of their content.

Al-Jazeera is already facing hostility across the Middle East, because they’re based in Qatar, and Saudi Arabia really doesn’t like Qatar. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and others called on the Justice Department to investigate al-Jazeera in particular for being “anti-semitic and anti-Israel,” saying they believe that makes it a ‘state-controlled propaganda arm.”

What being 'anti-Israel' has to do with being a foreign agent in the U.S. is not logic that I can follow.

there is no suggestion that foreign-owned outlets like the BBC will even be considered. The common denominator is not foreign government control, but rather the content.

Oh, well that I can understand.

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thanatokephaloides's picture

What being 'anti-Israel' has to do with being a foreign agent in the U.S. is not logic that I can follow.

Israel dictates our foreign policy. And we let them.

(By "we", I mean the US Government. As has been pointed out before, ordinary working-class non-rich Americans are about as much to blame for this state of affairs as a laboratory rat is to blame for the maze it inhabits.)

You cannot get elected to Congress or the Senate if you openly question or oppose Israeli policy. And in some States, it gets worse: in New York, one must sign a statement that he is not part of the "Boycott, Divest and Sanction" (BDS) activity against Israel in order to contract with the State.

So, if you question Israel, you're a foreign agent. Even if you're not.

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

The Aspie Corner's picture

@thanatokephaloides Israel is one of many client states to our empire. They do our bidding in the Middle East in exchange for aid. We have many of these. Now capitalism on the other hand? That DOES dictate our foreign policy.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

@The Aspie Corner Really?

So, when Trump decided to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel, that wasn't doing the bidding of Israel after years of Israel lobbying for such?

States and Congress are passing laws against BDS activity. That isn't doing Israel's bidding?

Our nation of about 330 million, mostly non-Jewish, is taxed to support a tiny country of 30 million, and the US blood is spilled to protect this tiny nation, and somehow, the US is telling Israel what to do?

Netenyahoo gets to address our Congress about what he wants and that isn't US doing Israel's bidding?

Anybody who dares to question this ridiculous arrangement is immediately accused of anti-Semitism. That has nothing to do with the US doing Israel's bidding?

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dfarrah

The Aspie Corner's picture

@dfarrah Our country's leaders go to Saudi Arabia to touch the magical orb, what, every year? Does that mean The Saudis control the US, too? By your logic, they might as well. The US could just as easily drop both of them like a bad habit and they wouldn't be able to do dick about it. Both countries are sorrunded by entities that hate their guts.

Sure, Benny may think he's a king, but he rules over little more than a vassal state. Even the so-called TPTB know that.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

lotlizard's picture

@dfarrah  
Source: Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)
http://cbs.gov.il/reader/

Not 30 million.

My personal opinion would be that the historical record provides ample proof your perspective is more correct than Aspie Corner’s.

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travelerxxx's picture

@lotlizard

I seem to recall reading lately that the we US taxpayers now send the fine citizens of the nation of Israel 30 million dollars each and every day. Maybe that's how the "30 million" figure entered into the discussion.

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@dfarrah
A lot of it is doing the bidding of the right wing "Christian" lobby/theocracy/.01%/oil-MIC-oligarchs. Netanyahu thinks they're his friends but it's hard to tell who is using who.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

lotlizard's picture

@thanatokephaloides  
Why confronting Israel is important

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Steven D's picture

is also not under the control of the Saudis. Which might be the real reason. Just a thought.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Al Jazeera was and is not compliant enough even though the US has a major naval base in Qatar. Probably a favor to the Saudis.

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@MrWebster
That you are great and powerful when that stupid mutt is pulling back the curtain

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divineorder's picture

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera

Heh.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

@divineorder aren't journalists anymore.

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dfarrah

snoopydawg's picture

was to keep them from releasing a scathing report on how Israel had been spying on our congress critters as well as foreign ones. This was about a year ago and I don't remember if the report got released or not.

I sure would like to see a journalist do an investigation into Israel's interference with not only our elections, but our domestic and foreign policies too.

When Flynn spoke to someone in Russia it wasn't just because of the sanctions. Bibi asked Kushner to ask Flynn to ask the Russians not to censure Israel for taking more Palestinians land. A few websites have reported on that, but they mainly focus on the sanctions part. I'm not even sure if that actually happened. Could have been propaganda.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Ain't free no more in the land of the 'free'.

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shaharazade's picture

@#11 So why do we get all this crap about Russia? Russian influence on our electoral process is nothing, zilch, compared with the influence of Israel. Hurts my head to even think about this. IP and yet there seems to me to be no question about who and what is going on in this insane piece of the middle east. So crazy I cannot comprehend why anyone would support the US support of these pigs.

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LeChienHarry's picture

not seem to advance diatribes or constant memes about the West or the US, just seems like a good news channel.

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You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again you did not know. ~ William Wiberforce

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