I can (and will) talk until I'm blue in the face about media bias, especially on events in the Middle East.....but Al Jazeera has presented an article that fleshes out a little better what I've been referring to in the US media.

This is NOT to say that AJ doesn't do the same thing; because they most definitely do...it is, however to say that this is at least some thought-provoking information about the "outside looking in" on the US media monster.

Media Bias 'threat' to Iraq

Here is some actual information on some of the statistics in Iraq. The Shia do (according to virtually every source I've found) number about 60%...some suggest even as high as 65% in Iraq.

That DOES NOT, however matter much in light of the media's insistance upon holding Sunni Muslims and terrorist organizations on the same level.

A July 2005 estimate of the total Iraqi population is 26,074,906.

Seventy-five to eighty percent of Iraq's population are Arabs; the other major ethnic groups are the Kurds at 15-20%, Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmen and others (5%), who mostly live in the north and northeast of the country. The Kurds, Assyrians, and Turkmen differ from Arabs in many ways, including culture, history, clothing, and language. Other distinct groups are Persians and Armenians (possible descendants of the ancient Mesopotamian culture). About 20,000–50,000 Marsh Arabs live in southern Iraq.

Arabic and Kurdish are official languages. Assyrian and Turkmen are official languages in areas where the Assyrians and Iraqi Turkmen are located respectively. Armenian and Persian are also spoken but to a lesser extent. English is the most commonly spoken Western language.

Most of Iraqis are Shi'ite Muslims (60%), and Sunni represent one third of the total population (35%) made up of mostly Arabs and Kurds. Ethnic Assyrians (of the Chaldean rite) account for most of Iraq's sizable Christian population, along with Armenians. Bahá'ís, Mandaeans, Shabaks, and Yezidis also exist. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, although the Faili (Feyli) Kurds are largely Shi'a.

Ethnic Composition:

• Ethnic groups: Arab, 75–80%; Kurdish, 15-20%; Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%.
• Religions: Muslim, 97%; Christian or other, 3%.

Proportions: There are no official figures available, mainly due to the highly politically charged nature of the subject. Source: Britannica: Shi'a 60%, Sunni 40% Source: CIA World Fact Book: Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%

• Shi'a: mostly Arabs some Turkmen and Faili Kurds almost all are Twelver school
• Sunni: composed of Arabs who are Hanafi school and Kurds who are Shafi school

~Dubya