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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell book
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UN GATE, Nov 22 – For the FIFA World Cup that Qatar paid bribes to get, it issued restrictions on the media that go to cover it, including that journalists will not be allowed to film or photograph in "residential properties, private businesses and industrial zones."

  Reporting on the deaths of migrant workers is not permitted.

  When the Cup began on Nov 20, Qatar was listless against Ecuador, and its "fans" left early. On Nov 19, England blew out Iran as the Netherlands did Senegal. But the US was tied by Wales - and UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres slipped in, even more quiet than his visit to China's Genocide Games at the beginning of the year. He said nothing, and the UN Correspondents he lets into "his" briefing asked nothing.

On November 22 Inner City Press asked Guterres' spokespeople Farhan Haq, Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming: "Nov 22-1: AGAIN, On human rights-challenged FIFA World Cup in Qatar, when did SG Guterres decide to go? Why so little put out publicly?  Since SG said nothing, was the trip paid for by him personally? If not, how much did it cost?"

No answer at all. In Doha, Argentina was beaten 2-1 by Saudi Arabia (whose MBS Guterres has embraced). There were nil nil ties between Tunisia and Denmark and Mexico and Poland (whose Lewandowski's penalty was stopped by Ochoa); France blew out the Socceroos 4-1. Somewhere corrupt Guterres was laughing - on the public dime.

Qatar also bans filming in “restricted areas where filming requires prior permission” and at “any site with signage or security advising of no photography/videography."   

Some who are criticizing these restrictions, however, say nothing when the United Nations does the same. Consider the reasons given by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric for having Inner City Press roughed up and banned from the UN, for three years and counting, from CJR:

"access is not a right, it’s a privilege,” Dujarric says. “None of this is happening now because of what he writes.” Dujarric says that Lee is often critical of fellow journalists; walking the halls in the evenings, he’ll live-stream running commentary criticizing other reporters. Not long ago, encountering a crew from Al Jazeera—which Lee believes has misled viewers about its connection to the Qatari government—Dujarric says that Lee Periscoped while shouting, “Fuck you!” repeatedly. (Lee says he was complaining that Dujarric had given the Al Jazeera crew a private interview, and excluded him.) “He creates an atmosphere of incivility within our working environment,” Dujarric says."  

So Inner City Press is banned by MALU's Melissa Fleming because it filmed on the fourth (media) floor, and for what it said? Or for criticizing his and Guterres' relations with Qatar's Al Jazeera, which got the exclusive to Guterres' two stolen UNSG elections?  

 We'll have more on this. 

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