DO THEY EVEN HAVE COUCHES IN IRAQ? HOW ABOUT POTATOES?

After years of all Saddam most of the time, it comes as quite a change for Iraqis to watch Tom and Jerry and the Arabic version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.

Liberated from 35 years of stilted official TV glorifying Saddam Hussein, Iraqis are snatching up satellite dishes by the thousands. Cartoons, fitness programs, movies and commercials are flooding into Iraqi living rooms.

These days, in fact, when a favorite show comes on, Iraqis on rooftops yell to neighbors to alert them.

Satellite television is one of the perks U.S.-British occupation has brought postwar Iraq. It has helped introduce them to open debate, free speech and spin, along with the culture of couch potatoes and remote-control fights.

"We're like the blind who have been offered the gift of sight," said Mahabat Ahmad, 32, a translator.

The demand for satellite dishes has continued despite a lack of electricity. Prices have dropped to about $250 from $300 two months ago. "They're buying them like they buy bread," said Mohammed al-Mulla, who works in an electronics store. "They say they're buying freedom."

The new freedom has opened doors for the country's American occupiers, who are setting up a new channel in hopes of winning over Iraqis. But it also offers an opportunity for critics to spread anti-U.S. sentiment.

An Iranian-financed TV channel slams the U.S. presence in Iraq, showing footage of Iraqis mourning two soldiers killed by American troops, shots of women being searched and a photo montage featuring Saddam, President Bush and Adolf Hitler.

The Americans have sent advisers contracted by the Defense Department to help set up the Iraqi Media Network. The network is still experimental, but it will let Americans tell their side of the story.

Just me talkin' out loud here but we ought to be able to win the TV wars if our closest competition is Iran for cryin' out loud.

Read it here.