Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Re: [LA-F] Joseph Sobran
The ones that conflict with your Statist/Socialist leanings?
At 11:31 PM 10/1/2010, you wrote:I loved Joesph Sobran, even though I disagreed with a few of his trains of thought. Sobran will be missed.
I detest Lew Rockwell, even though I agree with a couple of his positions (that are not so in the totally wacko right, conspiratorialist cracpot category)
On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 8:11 PM, Travis <baconlard@gmail.com> wrote:
- I posted this earlier.
On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 3:32 PM, Bruce Majors <majors.bruce@gmail.com > wrote:
- >
> "The great American writer Joe Sobran died today in Arlington, Virginia, > from complications of diabetes. He was just 64. There is much more to say > about this extraordinary man, but for now I just want to mention his > sacrificing his lucrative career at National Review on the altar of truth. > When Joe opposed the first US war on Iraq, ex-CIA agent Bill Buckley first > ordered him to submit to the warfare state, and when he wouldn't, fired him, > even calling Joe an anti-Semite. But unlike Buckley and the other neocons > who attacked him, Joe was no hater. He simply loved the Prince of- > Peace. *Requiescat
- > in pace."*
- >
- > Rich
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- Sean Gabb
Director, The Libertarian Alliance (Carbon Positive since 1979)- Skype Username: seangabb
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Buy these novels by Richard Blake: "Conspiracies of Rome" <http://tinyurl.com/l8uj8r > ("Fascinating to read, very well written, an intriguing plot" Derek Jacobi); "Terror of Constantinople" <http://tinyurl.com/n9ugw3 > ("Nasty, fun and educational" The Daily Telegraph); "Blood of Alexandria" <http://tinyurl.com/356mwdr >. "Sword of Damascus" will be published in June 2011. Buy them for your own enjoyment. Buy them as presents for your friends and loved ones. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]- __._,_.___
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**JP** We need to CHANGE THE POLICY with Nato, as we have brought them to their knees!!!!!
This reeks of what the Clinton admin tried to do with the FBI records
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Wonder if Zero will try to sell this one here
05.10.2010
Renewable energies push up electricity prices in Germany
Sockets
Electricity prices in Germany have gone up by over two percent in the first half of this year. Levies for renewable energies are increasingly contributing to the rise.
Electricity prices rose by 2.1 percent in Germany in the first half of the year, according to figures published by the German Association of the Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), driven by rising levies and taxes for renewable energies.
"Taxes and levies have reached a record high and make up 41 percent of people's electricity bills," BDEW director Hildegard Mueller said in a statement.
The industry body estimates that, as more power from renewable energies is fed into the grid, levies and taxes connected to solar, wind and water energy are also rising - by up to 70 percent from next year.
Solar energy plantBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Solar energy is heavily subsidized in Germany
Costly switch
Germany's Renewable Energy Law guarantees government subsidies for non-fossil energy sources, which is one of the reasons prices for consumers are rising.
"On the other hand, costs are increasing too, to pay for the modernization of the grids, so they can accommodate renewable energy sources. The costs are being passed on to the consumer," Mueller explained.
Since the electricity market was liberalized in 1998 in Germany, the share of taxes and levies on electricity prices has risen seven-fold. BDEW believes that despite recent cuts, the solar industry in particular, is still oversubsidized.
Not the whole story
But representatives from Germany's renewable energy industry point out that while the switch to cleaner energy is costly, it only makes up for 0.2 percent of an individual household's outgoings.
"There's no denying it - changing the way our energy is supplied is expensive," Joerg Mayer, director of the Renewable Energy Agency said. But Mayer added that investing in renewable energies would pay off in the long run.
Containers with nuclear sign on themBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The government's decision to keep nuclear reactors going for longer is controversial
Lack of competition
Opposition politicians from the Greens blame the lack of competition for higher prices. They say the government's recent decision to keep Germany's nuclear reactors going for longer than originally planned, makes it harder for renewable energy companies to compete with cheaper power from atomic energy and cements the power of the four big utilties RWE, E.On, Vattenfall and EnBW.
"Renewable energies are increasingly being used as an excuse to hike prices. Since 2008, wholesale electricity prices have fallen by up to 40 percent and that's not being passed on to the consumer," Baerbel Hoehn, deputy head of the Greens in parliament, said.
Author: Nicole Goebel (dpa/Reuters)
Editor: Chuck Penfold
DW-WORLD.DE | Print
| www.dw-world.de | © Deutsche Welle.
**JP** Pakistani Nation
**JP** Job | Pakistan | Telenor | RF Optimization Specialist | 4 Years Experience
Job | Pakistan | Telenor | RF Optimization Specialist | 4 Years Experience
Dear All,
This is an opening from Telenor Pakistan , For Application and Details, Please visit :
http://www.zumbeel.net/jobs/detail.php?param=NzA1BNgTcVY2TcVY
Interested candidates are requested to apply , rest are requested to spread the word in their network
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**JP** Job | Pakistan | Telenor | RF Executive – Planning & Re-design | 2 Years Experience
Job | Pakistan | Telenor | RF Executive – Planning & Re-design | 2 Years Experience
Dear All,
This is an opening from Telenor Pakistan , For Application and Details, Please visit :
http://www.zumbeel.net/jobs/detail.php?param=NzA1fNQTcVYuTcVY
Interested candidates are requested to apply , rest are requested to spread the word in their network
Best Regards,
Abdullah Nasim
Recruitment Executive | www.zumbeel. net | abdullah.n@zumbeel.net | +92-312-2385524
ZUMBEEL Telecom On Facebook | ZUMBEEL IT on Facebook | Find Me On Facebook | Find Me On LinkedIn | Find Me On Twitter
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Kellogg's submits to sharia too
Kellogg's submits to sharia too |
Kellogg's UK has complied with Islamic sharia law too, and gone halal. Are their U.S. products secretly halal? http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/products/ (click images to enlarge)
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Campbell's goes halal with unindicted co-conspirator ISNA, employees proselytized
Campbell's goes halal with unindicted co-conspirator ISNA, employees proselytized |
via Atlas Shrugs, Boyott Campbells - here. Send it around As part of Campbell Canada's commitment to diversity and extraordinary, authentic nourishment for all, our selection of Halal-certified products are here to help you meet your Islamic dietary requirements. Quick Facts on Campbell Halal-certified Products There are a variety of Campbell Canada products that are [...]
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$65 bucks for a pair of Converse All-Stars with Fuck Obama embroidered onto them.
$65 bucks for a pair of Converse All-Stars with Fuck Obama embroidered onto them. I'm there
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Who Owns The Media?
Who Owns The Media?
The 6 Monolithic Corporations That Control Almost Everything We Watch, Hear and Read
Economic Collapse Blog
Back in 1983, approximately 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the United States. Today, ownership of the news media has been concentrated in the hands of just six incredibly powerful media corporations. These corporate behemoths control most of what we watch, hear and read every single day. They own television networks, cable channels, movie studios, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, music labels and even many of our favorite websites. Sadly, most Americans don't even stop to think about who is feeding them the endless hours of news and entertainment that they constantly ingest. Most Americans don't really seem to care about who owns the media. But they should. The truth is that each of us is deeply influenced by the messages that are constantly being pounded into our heads by the mainstream media. The average American watches 153 hours of television a month. In fact, most Americans begin to feel physically uncomfortable if they go too long without watching or listening to something. Sadly, most Americans have become absolutely addicted to news and entertainment and the ownership of all that news and entertainment that we crave is being concentrated in fewer and fewer hands each year.
The six corporations that collectively control U.S. media today are Time Warner, Walt Disney, Viacom, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., CBS Corporation and NBC Universal. Together, the "big six" absolutely dominate news and entertainment in the United States. But even those areas of the media that the "big six" do not completely control are becoming increasingly concentrated. For example, Clear Channel now owns over 1000 radio stations across the United States. Companies like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are increasingly dominating the Internet.
But it is the "big six" that are the biggest concerns. When you control what Americans watch, hear and read you gain a great deal of control over what they think. They don't call it "programming" for nothing.
Back in 1983 it was bad enough that about 50 corporations dominated U.S. media. But since that time, power over the media has rapidly become concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people....
In 1983, fifty corporations dominated most of every mass medium and the biggest media merger in history was a $340 million deal. … [I]n 1987, the fifty companies had shrunk to twenty-nine. … [I]n 1990, the twenty-nine had shrunk to twenty three. … [I]n 1997, the biggest firms numbered ten and involved the $19 billion Disney-ABC deal, at the time the biggest media merger ever. … [In 2000] AOL Time Warner's $350 billion merged corporation [was] more than 1,000 times larger [than the biggest deal of 1983].
~ Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, Sixth Edition, (Beacon Press, 2000), pp. xx–xxi
Today, six colossal media giants tower over all the rest. Much of the information in the chart below comes from mediaowners.com. The chart below reveals only a small fraction of the media outlets that these six behemoths actually own....
Time Warner
Home Box Office (HBO)
Time Inc.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
CW Network (partial ownership)
TMZ
New Line Cinema
Time Warner Cable
Cinemax
Cartoon Network
TBS
TNT
America Online
MapQuest
Moviefone
Castle Rock
Sports Illustrated
Fortune
Marie Claire
People Magazine
Walt Disney
ABC Television Network
Disney Publishing
ESPN Inc.
Disney Channel
SOAPnet
A&E
Lifetime
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Theatrical Productions
Buena Vista Records
Disney Records
Hollywood Records
Miramax Films
Touchstone Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Pixar Animation Studios
Buena Vista Games
Hyperion Books
Viacom
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Home Entertainment
Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Comedy Central
Country Music Television (CMT)
Logo
MTV
MTV Canada
MTV2
Nick Magazine
Nick at Nite
Nick Jr.
Nickelodeon
Noggin
Spike TV
The Movie Channel
TV Land
VH1
News Corporation
Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Fox Television Stations
The New York Post
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Beliefnet
Fox Business Network
Fox Kids Europe
Fox News Channel
Fox Sports Net
Fox Television Network
FX
My Network TV
MySpace
News Limited News
Phoenix InfoNews Channel
Phoenix Movies Channel
Sky PerfecTV
Speed Channel
STAR TV India
STAR TV Taiwan
STAR World
Times Higher Education Supplement Magazine
Times Literary Supplement Magazine
Times of London
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox International
20th Century Fox Studios
20th Century Fox Television
BSkyB
DIRECTV
The Wall Street Journal
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Interactive Media
FOXTEL
HarperCollins Publishers
The National Geographic Channel
National Rugby League
News Interactive
News Outdoor
Radio Veronica
ReganBooks
Sky Italia
Sky Radio Denmark
Sky Radio Germany
Sky Radio Netherlands
STAR
Zondervan
CBS Corporation
CBS News
CBS Sports
CBS Television Network
CNET
Showtime
TV.com
CBS Radio Inc. (130 stations)
CBS Consumer Products
CBS Outdoor
CW Network (50% ownership)
Infinity Broadcasting
Simon & Schuster (Pocket Books, Scribner)
Westwood One Radio Network
NBC Universal
Bravo
CNBC
NBC News
MSNBC
NBC Sports
NBC Television Network
Oxygen
SciFi Magazine
Syfy (Sci Fi Channel)
Telemundo
USA Network
Weather Channel
Focus Features
NBC Universal Television Distribution
NBC Universal Television Studio
Paxson Communications (partial ownership)
Trio
Universal Parks & Resorts
Universal Pictures
Universal Studio Home Video
These gigantic media corporations do not exist to objectively tell the truth to the American people. Rather, the primary purpose of their existence is to make money.
These gigantic media corporations are not going to do anything to threaten their relationships with their biggest advertisers (such as the largest pharmaceutical companies that literally spend billions on advertising), and one way or another these gigantic media corporations are always going to express the ideological viewpoints of their owners.
Fortunately, an increasing number of Americans are starting to wake up and are realizing that the mainstream media should not be trusted. According to a new poll just released by Gallup, the number of Americans that have little to no trust in the mainstream media (57%) is at an all-time high.
That is one reason why we have seen the alternative media experience such rapid growth over the past few years. The mainstream media has been losing credibility at a staggering rate, and Americans are starting to look elsewhere for the truth about what is really going on.
Do you think that anyone in the mainstream news would actually tell you that the Federal Reserve is bad for America or that we are facing a horrific derivatives bubble that could destroy the entire world financial system? Do you think that anyone in the mainstream media would actually tell you the truth about the deindustrialization of America or the truth about the voracious greed of Goldman Sachs?
Sure there are a few courageous reporters in the mainstream media that manage to slip a few stories past their corporate bosses from time to time, but in general there is a very clear understanding that there are simply certain things that you just do not say in the mainstream news.
But Americans are becoming increasingly hungry for the truth, and they are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the dumbed down pablum that is passing as "hard hitting news" these days.
So what do you think about the state of the mainstream media? Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....
Reprinted with permission from the Economic Collapse Blog.
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Mallard Fillmore 10/6/10
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**JP** Immediate need for Project Manager with Agile exp,AZ.
Dear Business Associates,
Hope this note finds you in well!
Please find the below pasted requirement for your review and let me know if any of your consultants matching with the below requirement, please send me their updated resume along with the contact details ASAP.
PLEASE REPLY BACK TO KAZIM@CALIBERCI.COM WITH RESUMES
Position : Project Manager with Agile exp.
Location : Arizona
Duration : 3 months
Job description:
Our client is looking for a Project Manager with Agile exp.
Required skills:
.Experienced/successful in managing one or more agile/iterative projects in a collaborative work environment.
.Past experience in technical application development / lead role.
Please provide me the following details inorder to expedite the process:
Complete Name:
Current Location ( City/State):
Relocation Preference:
Email ID:
Cell #:
Landline # ( If any):
Availability:
Visa Status:
Regards,
kazim
IT Recruiter
CALIBER Consulting, Inc.
E-mail ID:kazim@caliberci.com
Fax #: 302 261 7383
Website: www.caliberci.com
This electronic mail message and any attached files contain information intended for the exclusive use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is proprietary, privileged, confidential and/or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any viewing, copying, disclosure or distribution of this information may be subject to legal restriction or sanction. Please notify the sender, by electronic mail or telephone, of any unintended recipients and delete the original message without making any copies.
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Fwd: News Alert: Judge Bars Major Witness From Civilian Terrorism Trial
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: | News Alert: Judge Bars Major Witness From Civilian Terrorism Trial |
---|---|
Date: | Wed, 6 Oct 2010 10:17:07 -0400 |
From: | NYTimes.com News Alert <nytdirect@nytimes.com> |
Reply-To: | nytdirect@nytimes.com |
To: | rhomp2002@EARTHLINK.NET |
Breaking News Alert The New York Times Wed, October 06, 2010 -- 10:15 AM ET ----- Judge Bars Major Witness From Civilian Terrorism Trial Minutes before a major terrorism trial was about to begin, a federal judge barred prosecutors in Manhattan on Wednesday from using a key witness. The government had acknowledged it learned about the witness from the defendant, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, while he was being interrogated while being held in a secret overseas jail run by the C.I.A. The ruling by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan would be a setback for the Obama administration's goal of trying former detainees in civilian courts because it would limit the kinds of evidence prosecutors can introduce. It was not immediately clear if prosecutors would appeal the ruling. The defendant, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, was scheduled to begin trial on Wednesday in Federal District Court on charges he conspired in the 1998 bombings of the American Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The attacks, orchestrated by Al Qaeda, killed 224 people. Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/nyregion/07ghailani.html?hp&emc=na ----- Now get New York Times breaking news alerts sent to your mobile phone. Sign up by texting NEWSALERTS to 698698 (NYTNYT). ----- About This E-Mail You received this message because you are signed up to receive breaking news alerts from NYTimes.com. To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to sign up for daily headlines or other newsletters, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/email NYTimes.com 620 Eighth Ave. New York, NY 10018 Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
Want to Know if the FBI Is Tracking You? Look for One of These
Want to Know if the FBI Is Tracking You? Look for One of These
Want to know if the government is really tracking you? If you find one of these tucked underneath your car, you can start freaking out.
A routine visit to the mechanic by a Redditor and his friend turned up this ominous looking device nestled right next to the exhaust on his friend's car.
After promptly ruling out a bomb, other Redditors helped correctly identify the black device as a Guardian ST820—a GPS tracking unit made by Cobham and used exclusively by the army and law enforcement. According the poster, the friend's (now dead) father had ties to the Muslim religious community, and was the subject of quite a bit of FBI interest. That interest also extended to the son, who has supposedly been on an FBI watch list since last year.
"Why my friend is being tracked is anyone's guess, but the only thing I think it could be is his connection to his father," he says. "The FBI tried to get in touch with my friend a few months ago and he referred them to his lawyer and hasn't heard from them since." Redditors have thus far suggested sending the unit to France, Uganda, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Yemen, Oceana, United Kingdom, Fiji, Estonia, Denmark, and Somalia (in that order), the Chilean mine, and Ron Paul's car.
According to the poster, his friend's car was also impounded three months, which is when he believes the tracking unit was first placed on the car.
Sadly, such a move isn't without legal precedent. This past August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that placing tracking devices underneath cars isn't actually a breach of the Fourth Amendment, so long as law enforcement official think someone is a criminal. Furthermore, this can be done even if your car is parked in your own driveway—a location that does not hold the same reasonable expectation of privacy as, say, a garage. Currently, California and eight other Western states recognize this ruling, according to Adam Cohen, a lawyer and reporter for Time.
Thankfully, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seems to disagree with this insanity. In a ruling last August, the latter court said that tracking anyone for an extended period of time with GPS does in fact consitute an invasion of privacy and should require a warrant. Yeah, we'll go out on a limb and agree.
Stay tuned for the inevitable Supreme Court decision. And in the mean time, we'd suggest parking in your garage…if you have one.
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**JP** Missing huge explosives and weapons in india & Afghanistan...war against Pakistan?
Missing weapons and terrorism!
Khalid Iqbal
It is rather worrisome to observe that large quantities of weapons have gone missing in Afghanistan. Over 72,000 American supplied AK-47s, hundreds of heavy machine guns and Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers delivered to Afghan police are not traceable. Concerns are being aired that bulk of these missing weapons might have ended up in the hands of terrorists, while several thousand could have been intentionally smuggled into Pakistan for strengthening the terrorist elements. This proposition about the disposal of stolen weapons is plausible and bothersome. Americans follow a stringent system for ensuring the security of weapons. They use a sophisticated tracking system to continuously register the precise location of each weapon held on the inventories of various security outfits. This helps in recovering the weapons which go missing or fall in the hands of adversaries during combat. Presumably, same procedures should have been in vogue for the missing weapons of Afghan police as well.
Hence, one could assume that this saga of theft of weapon at such a large scale could not accomplish without the connivance of insiders, because weapon tracking system must have been initially blinded and then disabled before such an action of theft; and this could not be done by illiterate and poorly skilled recruits of Afghan police. While reporting the incident, American military newspaper 'Stars and Stripes' has quoted 'NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan' as saying that a massive hunt is on for tens of thousands of rifles, machine guns and RPG launchers that the U.S. government procured for the Afghan National Police but are unaccounted for." This training mission is responsible for training security personnel in Afghanistan. A major bulk of its activities is out sourced to private contractors of the category of Black Water/ XE Services etc, operating under various brands. These agencies have their trans-border agenda extending into various countries of the region. Personnel employed by these outfits are known for their criminal record and blatant violation of rules and regulations. Hence, the loss of weapons could be a part of planned pilferage by these security contractor agencies for some illegitimate activities elsewhere.
In the recent past, fingers have been pointed towards some of these entities for their dubious presence and clandestine activities in Pakistan. In all probability, XE Services, the company formerly known as Black Water, has been conducting false flag terrorist attacks in Pakistan that are later blamed on Pakistani Taliban. One could also speculate that due to overwhelming sympathy within the security apparatus of Afghanistan for the political struggle against the presence of foreign armed forces in Afghanistan, the missing weapons could have been intentionally and systematically passed on of to 'freedom fighters'.
Another cause of such occurrences could be the reality that personnel of security forces of Afghanistan are highly politicised and alarmingly undisciplined. During Poppy sowing and harvesting season they desert their units in droves to earn lucrative compensations offered by drug barons to agricultural workers engaged for Poppy cultivation. As the seasons for sowing and harvesting of Poppy end, these guys return to their units, and they are happily allowed to resume their security related functions. Incidents regarding selling of weapons by the personnel of Afghan security forces also surface frequently.
Yet another plausible reasoning could be that it may be a handiwork of a grand mafia working in Afghanistan with the help of Indian intelligence, transporting arms and drugs into Pakistan as well as into some Central Asian states. Circumstantial evidence confirms delivery of fresh weapons to terrorists of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Recent surge in terrorist activities in Pakistan is an indicator in this regard. During recent weeks there have been around ten acts of terrorism conducted inside Pakistan, by these foreign backed terrorists.
Pakistan has recently complained to Western states about the support provided to anti-Pakistan terrorists' networks in Afghanistan, but ISAF/NATO officials are reluctant to take necessary action to curb infiltration of men and weapons from Afghanistan into Pakistan. This is not the first time that weapons that go missing in Afghanistan have reached Pakistan. During military operations by the armed forces of Pakistan in Malakand and Swat areas, it was found that such flow of weapons is the mainstay of military power of terrorist outfits, which carry out subversive activities in various parts of Pakistan. ISAF/NATO certainly need to do more in the context of physical security of these small weapons which provide a source of sustenance to terrorist activities in Pakistan. India is not far behind Americans in misplacing the instruments of death. After all it must copy each and every action of America in a run up to its quest for super power status. Some 61 trucks loaded with over 300 tons of explosives went missing in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, a couple of weeks ago.
These trucks were sent from a government factory, 'Rajasthan Explosives and Chemicals Limited', to a private company called 'Ganesh Explosives', the convoy went missing enroute. Convoy of 61 trucks is a huge thing; it could not disappear just like that. Normally, explosive containers move under stringent security arrangements. No encounter between security personnel and 'highjackers' was reported. All this happened quietly and smoothly like a well rehearsed military drill. Apparently it is another gimmick of Indian intelligence agencies; which could use these lethal explosives to stage manage an event and then blame Pakistan for it. Rumours have it that forthcoming "Common Wealth Games" could be one such venue. Moreover, Indian support to various terrorist outfits in Pakistan is an open secret.
At this critical stage of Afghan conflict, when draw down of foreign forces is around the corner, one needs to watch out for oozing out of auxiliary conflicts in the region. Some of these could be stage managed by various actors to gain strategic space within the overall settlement framework of Afghan conflict; others could be ignited by those disgruntled entities that have been marginalized and wish to act as spoilers. Small arms proliferation alongside drug trafficking is the lifeline of terrorist outfits and under world mafias. There is need for stringent multi-state measures to break this nexus for achieving sustainable peace in South Asia.
—The writer is a national security analyst.
Re: **JP** Letter to Editor - Musharraf Bashing
Allah hamay saachi democrary day
Aamin
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Who Owns The Media?
Who Owns The Media?
The 6 Monolithic Corporations That Control Almost Everything We Watch, Hear and Read
Economic Collapse Blog
Back in 1983, approximately 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the United States. Today, ownership of the news media has been concentrated in the hands of just six incredibly powerful media corporations. These corporate behemoths control most of what we watch, hear and read every single day. They own television networks, cable channels, movie studios, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, music labels and even many of our favorite websites. Sadly, most Americans don't even stop to think about who is feeding them the endless hours of news and entertainment that they constantly ingest. Most Americans don't really seem to care about who owns the media. But they should. The truth is that each of us is deeply influenced by the messages that are constantly being pounded into our heads by the mainstream media. The average American watches 153 hours of television a month. In fact, most Americans begin to feel physically uncomfortable if they go too long without watching or listening to something. Sadly, most Americans have become absolutely addicted to news and entertainment and the ownership of all that news and entertainment that we crave is being concentrated in fewer and fewer hands each year.
The six corporations that collectively control U.S. media today are Time Warner, Walt Disney, Viacom, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., CBS Corporation and NBC Universal. Together, the "big six" absolutely dominate news and entertainment in the United States. But even those areas of the media that the "big six" do not completely control are becoming increasingly concentrated. For example, Clear Channel now owns over 1000 radio stations across the United States. Companies like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are increasingly dominating the Internet.
But it is the "big six" that are the biggest concerns. When you control what Americans watch, hear and read you gain a great deal of control over what they think. They don't call it "programming" for nothing.
Back in 1983 it was bad enough that about 50 corporations dominated U.S. media. But since that time, power over the media has rapidly become concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people....
In 1983, fifty corporations dominated most of every mass medium and the biggest media merger in history was a $340 million deal. … [I]n 1987, the fifty companies had shrunk to twenty-nine. … [I]n 1990, the twenty-nine had shrunk to twenty three. … [I]n 1997, the biggest firms numbered ten and involved the $19 billion Disney-ABC deal, at the time the biggest media merger ever. … [In 2000] AOL Time Warner's $350 billion merged corporation [was] more than 1,000 times larger [than the biggest deal of 1983].
~ Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, Sixth Edition, (Beacon Press, 2000), pp. xx–xxi
Today, six colossal media giants tower over all the rest. Much of the information in the chart below comes from mediaowners.com. The chart below reveals only a small fraction of the media outlets that these six behemoths actually own....
Time Warner
Home Box Office (HBO)
Time Inc.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
CW Network (partial ownership)
TMZ
New Line Cinema
Time Warner Cable
Cinemax
Cartoon Network
TBS
TNT
America Online
MapQuest
Moviefone
Castle Rock
Sports Illustrated
Fortune
Marie Claire
People Magazine
Walt Disney
ABC Television Network
Disney Publishing
ESPN Inc.
Disney Channel
SOAPnet
A&E
Lifetime
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Theatrical Productions
Buena Vista Records
Disney Records
Hollywood Records
Miramax Films
Touchstone Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Pixar Animation Studios
Buena Vista Games
Hyperion Books
Viacom
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Home Entertainment
Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Comedy Central
Country Music Television (CMT)
Logo
MTV
MTV Canada
MTV2
Nick Magazine
Nick at Nite
Nick Jr.
Nickelodeon
Noggin
Spike TV
The Movie Channel
TV Land
VH1
News Corporation
Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Fox Television Stations
The New York Post
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Beliefnet
Fox Business Network
Fox Kids Europe
Fox News Channel
Fox Sports Net
Fox Television Network
FX
My Network TV
MySpace
News Limited News
Phoenix InfoNews Channel
Phoenix Movies Channel
Sky PerfecTV
Speed Channel
STAR TV India
STAR TV Taiwan
STAR World
Times Higher Education Supplement Magazine
Times Literary Supplement Magazine
Times of London
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox International
20th Century Fox Studios
20th Century Fox Television
BSkyB
DIRECTV
The Wall Street Journal
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Interactive Media
FOXTEL
HarperCollins Publishers
The National Geographic Channel
National Rugby League
News Interactive
News Outdoor
Radio Veronica
ReganBooks
Sky Italia
Sky Radio Denmark
Sky Radio Germany
Sky Radio Netherlands
STAR
Zondervan
CBS Corporation
CBS News
CBS Sports
CBS Television Network
CNET
Showtime
TV.com
CBS Radio Inc. (130 stations)
CBS Consumer Products
CBS Outdoor
CW Network (50% ownership)
Infinity Broadcasting
Simon & Schuster (Pocket Books, Scribner)
Westwood One Radio Network
NBC Universal
Bravo
CNBC
NBC News
MSNBC
NBC Sports
NBC Television Network
Oxygen
SciFi Magazine
Syfy (Sci Fi Channel)
Telemundo
USA Network
Weather Channel
Focus Features
NBC Universal Television Distribution
NBC Universal Television Studio
Paxson Communications (partial ownership)
Trio
Universal Parks & Resorts
Universal Pictures
Universal Studio Home Video
These gigantic media corporations do not exist to objectively tell the truth to the American people. Rather, the primary purpose of their existence is to make money.
These gigantic media corporations are not going to do anything to threaten their relationships with their biggest advertisers (such as the largest pharmaceutical companies that literally spend billions on advertising), and one way or another these gigantic media corporations are always going to express the ideological viewpoints of their owners.
Fortunately, an increasing number of Americans are starting to wake up and are realizing that the mainstream media should not be trusted. According to a new poll just released by Gallup, the number of Americans that have little to no trust in the mainstream media (57%) is at an all-time high.
That is one reason why we have seen the alternative media experience such rapid growth over the past few years. The mainstream media has been losing credibility at a staggering rate, and Americans are starting to look elsewhere for the truth about what is really going on.
Do you think that anyone in the mainstream news would actually tell you that the Federal Reserve is bad for America or that we are facing a horrific derivatives bubble that could destroy the entire world financial system? Do you think that anyone in the mainstream media would actually tell you the truth about the deindustrialization of America or the truth about the voracious greed of Goldman Sachs?
Sure there are a few courageous reporters in the mainstream media that manage to slip a few stories past their corporate bosses from time to time, but in general there is a very clear understanding that there are simply certain things that you just do not say in the mainstream news.
But Americans are becoming increasingly hungry for the truth, and they are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the dumbed down pablum that is passing as "hard hitting news" these days.
So what do you think about the state of the mainstream media? Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....
Reprinted with permission from the Economic Collapse Blog.
**JP** URDU COLUMNS 6.10.10
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