—— The US is neither a democracy nor a country with a free and unfettered media. Instead we have a huge, Pentagon-pushing propaganda machine lying to us nonstop. See Democracy Now’s report on how MSNBC got rid of a prominent liberal Left voice… Phil Donahue on His 2003 Firing from MSNBC, When Liberal Network Couldn’t Tolerate Antiwar Voices
And neglects the NeuenRealpolitik of Corporate control of Politics in America and its vassal states, and the strange silence on her part about Net Neutrality, just, you know, allow Corporate Overlords to control every aspect of the Internet through”free” Market business decisions. As though the Internet wasn’t developed at PUBLIC expense. Kind of like the Military are PUBLICLY funded institutions but somehow, all the profits from their Corporate Warfare go to the same very small group of very rich Thieves.
AT&T, Microsoft, the “Baby Bells”, IBM, Intel… they were very handsomely paid for their “contributions” to developing the Internet. But somehow, I just don’t believe that their engineers, the ones who did all the work, got paid a double digit percentage (> = 10%) of the amount paid to the tiny minority of shareholders who own most of the shares.
Remember Ross Perot? Made $20bn by having the GOVERNMENT provide the research, the recruitment and training of his Data Management team, the equipment to build “his” corporation, EDS… but it was “his” so-called leadership that was the most valuable asset.
Even then, after he immediately sold the company for the aforementioned twenty thousand x a million dollars, fudges on his income tax. Oh, and it was to build the Social Security Medicare database, he being an outspoken critic of Non-Privatized Social Security.
More recently, he got a fat cat contract, no bids, to provide the data management through the company he no longer officially owns, and his Country Club/Military Industrial Complex buddy former Gov. Bill Owens, the term “thick as thieves” applies here… to “manage” the Electronic Benefits Transfers… Medicaid and Food Assistance and AFDC and some very sore spots for Republicans, Child Protective Services… (Why do “conservatives” hate American kids?)
When the system, no bid, patched together and really shoddy, experienced several hiccups during the first 6 months that cost Human Beings Their Irreplaceable Lives, Bill Owens laughed it off with a militaristic quote that it was like launching a new Aircraft Carrier, “you gotta run it for a wile to get all the bugs out of it.” Ignore the fact that a carrier is designed to KILL large numbers of people.
Basically, it’s the notion that “Why should we let the lives of PEASANTS interfere with our profit margins?”
Bill Owens has yet to answer for how much he made in kickbacks from EDS and his old friend Ross Perot.
Hillary has yet to answer for how much she’s making in kickbacks from AT&T, Comcast, Microsux etc over her effective blocking of Net Neutrality.
But these are the flag-carriers for “freedom”. And somehow in such a high position of moral authority that they can tell other countries what to do.
Since the following chain of logic is true, very possible and knowing the “ethical” standards of the American CorporaFascist Empire therefore very probable. Quote:November 05, 2010 12:14 PM
What Role Did Comcast Play in Keith Olbermann’s Suspension?–UPDATED
By karoli
There is a double standard at work with regard to Keith Olbermann’s suspension, not only between other personalities appearing on MSNBC as commentators, but also at the very top level of the food chain. Comcast now owns MSNBC after their acquisition was completed earlier this year, despite protestations from many of us. A look at campaign finance disclosures for several organizations shows that Phil Anschutz, chairman of Comcast major shareholder and content partner with Comcast, donated large sums of money to the First Amendment Alliance, (How very Orwellian, have we wound back the clock to “1984”? Does the Legal Staff for the “First Amendment Alliance work only for the Rich? What a foolish question, of course they won’t defend anybody else’s freedom of speech -Jonah) one of the largest outside groups targeting Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections.
The Anschutz Corporation, wholly owned by Phil Anschutz, gave $50,000 on 9/24/2010 to the First Amendment Alliance. The two candidates targeted by the First Amendment Alliance? Jack Conway and Michael Bennet.
Keith Olbermann gave to Jack Conway’s campaign along with Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords.
In addition, the Anschutz family donated $169,900 to Republican candidates and committees during the 2010 election cycle, according to Open Secrets.
Additionally, Comcast Corporation has contributed $125,000 to the Republican Governors’ Association in the 2010 cycle (as of 9/30/2010).
There’s been a lot of chatter about MSNBC policy, and whether Olbermann should have gotten advance approval for his donations to Jack Conway, Raul Grijalva(Targeted, literally, by the Neo-Nazi group “the Minutemen” for taking a stand against their Racist anti-Immigrant policies, they fired shots at his office and have repeatedly threatened him, along with Murdering the American Child Briseña Flores in her home because her surname is Spanish) and Gabrielle Giffords on October 28th. The policy I’ve seen reads like this:
NBC and MSNBC TV require permission of the president of NBC News. (MSNBC.com is a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft.)
“Anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist As opposed to an “entertainer” edit by Jonah because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest. But not Corporate donations nor the contributions from the Elitist Scum who effectively ARE the corporation- Jonah Such activities may include participation in or contributions to political campaigns or groups that espouse controversial positions. (even though Mr Olbermann made huge sums of Profits for MSNBC by celebrating or opposing very controversial positions) You should
(but not “Must” -Jonah) report any such potential conflicts in advance to, and obtain prior approval of, the President of NBC News or his designee.” (who insist they have no such moral obligations, far less legal -Jonah)
That language clearly says “should” and not “must”. Further, anyone who thinks Keith Olbermann is an impartial journalist should have their head examined. (sic -grammar -Jonah) He’s not, never has been, never will be, and is not presented as one.
But it leaves this question lingering for me: How is it that the parent corporation of NBC and chairman of that corporation, Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough are accorded First Amendment rights to political speech and Keith Olbermann is not?
GET THIS: From the NYTimes:
The News Corporation is one of the biggest suppliers of content to Comcast, with contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
End quote.
So whazzup on that, Dawgs? It would seem that Fox, feeling empowered by their Corporate Sponsored “victory” over American Democracy and any sense of real liberty, is now punishing people who don’t even work for their particular subsidiary node of the Corporate Empire.
For doing on a private individual basis for Democratic candidates whom Fox and the head offices of Comcast had targeted Publicly and, when they did so, with amounts of cash that would dwarf KO’s entire stash, let alone what he could afford to donate. And, in the case of Fox, non-stop, 24/7 for 17 YEARS providing free advertising for the Republican and Tea Parties.
FREE airtime, from a Corporate Hypocrisy that actually got the United States Congress to condemn the New York Times for SELLING an ad to MoveOn.org at a discount.
Said that any criticism of then President Bonzo the Semi-Articulate Chimpanzee was de facto an endorsement of and a campaign contribution to the DNC.
Coward bastards hid behind a technicality that they more than technically break and have broken consistently for 17 years. And, it wasn’t so much a criticism against George Bush, but his Mouthpiece General Betray-us. Allegedly, the Pentagon doesn’t belong to any political faction or party. FOX sees it differently and had enough Corporate Slave Congresspersons to back them up on it.
There were REAL stories which got buried by the storm of OUTRAGE! instigated by the fake “revolutionaries” at Fox. A wave of racist terrorism which Fox tacitly endorsed, anonymous COWARDS hanging nooses outside the homes and offices of Black “troublemakers”.
One of which was hanged outside the office of a Coast Guard professor… inside the boundaries of the Coast Guard Academy.
A major victory of anti-American TERRORISTS on a supposedly secured American Military Installation, crawling with Navy SPs and monitored front and back, up and down, and sideways by Security Surveillance of every kind, supposedly somebody sneaked onto the installation to deliver the Hate Message. Was this story reported on FOX? Fox no it wasn’t. Fox was too busy beating the drum FOR Bush and his accomplice Generally Betrays Us.
FOR organized slaughter in pursuit of the almighty dollar. You know who DID mention it amid all the DumFux Noise Nutwerks generated hooplah? Keith Olbermann.
Also in the pipes during the same short period of Journalistic Shining Ethics on the part of DumFux, was Comcast consolidating their Unholy Alliance with MSNBC, now their Lackeys who do their dirty work for them… like firing KO… who incidentally, unlike DumFox Noose Nutwerx, DID comment on that.
Show of hands, class, is there anybody here who doesn’t believe either Comcast, NBC, Microsoft or especially FOX news would be above doing something like that? Anybody? Bueller? Anybody? Who believes they have enough morals to refrain from that given the means and the motive? Who believes they don’t have the means or the motive? Anybody?
MSNBC- Apparently “some importers don’t understand … you can’t catch Swine Flu from eating pork.” The perky MSNBC duo ridiculed China for banning pork from the US and Canada, but their guest expert interjected another priority: the correct term was “H1N1 virus,” not Swine Flu. Everyone agreed the distinction could quell international hysteria against the falsely accused.
Interesting that Health Officials should “STRESS THAT YOU CAN’T GET SWINE FLU FROM EATING PORK.” We need Health Officials to STRESS how to avoid Swine Flu, not where to avoid avoiding it. Leave it to the pork industry which brewed the swill, up from which Swine Flu had wafted, to clear their pork by-product for public consumption.
The Contessa Brewer & Melissa Francis Sweet Valley Twins act lets MSNBC set up contrived incredulity which consultants can confirm within the context of otherwise false assumptions. “Swine Flu has nothing to do with pigs, right? I mean, pigs don’t catch it, right?”
Neither Brewer nor Francis can be as dumb as they pretend. One graduated Magna Cum Laud, the other is a Harvard alumni. You might welcome an everywoman chattiness on a daytime news presentation, but playing to a lower denominator means that corporate spokesmen can relay their talking points without scrutiny.
On this program, the twin debs were perplexed by the apparent overreaction of Hong Kong officials, who quarantined a hotel, a vestage, it was determined, from their difficult experience with SARS. The MSNBC guest expert offered a further helpful obfuscation: medical researchers still don’t understand how SARS spread between hotel guests.
Thus, international scrutiny of hog production was greeted with an incurious derision. This has nothing to do with the pigs, right?
And you don’t get malaria from pools of standing water. Mosquitoes spread malaria and dengue fever among many tropical diseases. We can probably guess that Brewer, Francis and guest know that malaria control efforts center on mosquito breeding grounds.
But the guest kept up the ridicule of swine-focused measures. Egypt was trying to slaughter pigs which it considered vulnerable to the pandemic, how unfair. The expert wasn’t addressing the probable unfairness of the farmers targeted by the Egyptian government, the expert was speaking up for the poor hogs who would be slaughtered in vain. I may have mistaken a lament for lost pork chops, sooner than empathy for the misjudged pigs, but the latter seemed illogical. The poor hogs otherwise what future exactly, beside imminent slaughter?