Hah! Because I'm a stupid American hick, I'm supposed to say "Whol, I guess that I-rak media is left-winged, cuz left-winged is bad yup?"
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No, I was just asking. See, I'd call it very right wing in its approach, as its entirely devoted to supporting the power structure in place.

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OTOH, it's also fair to say that Ba'ath is (nominally) socialist.

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Ultimately, I'd call it fascist... and fascism is on the extreme right end of the traditional left/right spectrum. If you take a look at how Iraq actually runs its society, fascist is almost certainly the best description available for it.

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The question is intended to point out that "liberal media" or "neo-con commentators" as an epithet is not very useful. Keeping in mind that media in the US has over the last ten years had its ownership concentrated to an incredible degree, looking at Mussolini's description of fascism is illustrative.

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The Iraqi media is conservative...very, very conservative. Of course they have nowhere near the freedom to criticize the goverment (make that NO freedom). One of the reasons that conservative Muslims despise Americans is our media. The things shown on TV and the big screen are beyond belief for them, completely out of what they consider morally acceptable. They see what our media portrays, and want to protect their sons and daughters from that.
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Ultimately, that's an exercise in futility. They'd be much further ahead trying to inoculate them instead, by giving them the right intellectual and moral tools to look at it critically.

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Part of the problem is that they don't have the experience of living in polylithic societies, and that makes acceptance of difference much more difficult for them. I live in a relatively small city, and I can see people descended from every continent within two blocks of my home. The average citizen of Kuwait or SA only sees people from other continents when they're the domestic help. It makes a big difference in how they see the world.

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And I agree wholeheartedly. The vast majority of "entertainment" these days is a race to find new levels of degeneration, in order to shock and awe jaded Americans. It's only a few more levels till we're throwing lions to the lawyers in arena combat.
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Great line... :) My dad's a lawyer; I'm sure he'd get a laugh out of that one. I'll have to run it by him next time I see him.

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What's happening with mass market entertainment in the US brings to mind the concept of bread and circuses... which brings one 'round (by an admittedly circuitous route) to the point that the first victim of Imperial Rome was Republican Rome. Something to think about...