In addition to all the previous discussions mentioned, I also wondered two more things about the Al-jazeera and the blog piece that I forwarded: 1) what's up with blogs? why do they seem to have some sort of extra aura of authority about them? is it just hype, or do they have some other added value that I am missing? 2) beyond the political complexities of the middle east and the biased/unbiased reportage of Al-jazeera, how is it that *patriotism* has come to mean - do what ever you can to win, and screw the idea of free speech/press? whether you agree with Al-jazeera or not, if you apply duct tape across the face of its website and post a *rah rah go USA, we're patriots* splash page over it, aren't you squashing the very principles that you are so proud of? and how is this different from culture jammimg DOW, which I think it is? (please answer the above in short essay form. each question is worth 25 points. no points will be deducted for improper formatting, spelling errors, or political affiliation. :-) -robert