Israel, proud of its propaganda, hobbles al-jazeera

Jonathan Cook, a British-based writer based in Nazareth, offers an intriguing glimpse of journalistic life inside Israel just now, where military censorship has been imposed. Two examples. One, an Israeli government adviser, Gideon Meir, boasted to the Jerusalem Post: "We have never had it so good. The hasbara [propaganda] effort is a well-oiled machine." Two, the Arab-based satellite station, al-Jazeera, has been all but banned from reporting because it has been "running rings around the local and foreign press." It has been quicker off the mark, more balanced and more informative. (Via zmag.org)