Presstitutes

The mysterious company that just bought Newsweek

"Uzac, the CEO, turns 30 on August 7. He grew up in France and South Africa, carries a French passport, and studied geography and economics at the London School of Economics. His partner and IBT's chief content officer is Johnathan Davis, a 31-year-old American who studied computer engineering at UCLA and did time in Silicon Valley.Together they launched what became IBT Media in 2006, with personal savings, a SBA bank loan, and no input, financial or advisory, from VCs. They say they've been profitable since 2010. Headquarters are in New York, with offices in Bangalore, Shanghai, and Sidney. Total editorial employees: about 150." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe mysterious company that just bought Newsweek

Bezos Paid a ‘Friendship Premium’ for the Washington Post

"The founder of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) plunked down $250 million for the Post newspaper division, about 17 times adjusted profit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That multiple implies a valuation for the New York Times of about $4 billion -- more than double its current market value. The value of newspapers has been cratering since Rupert Murdoch paid $5.2 billion for Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones & Co. six years ago. The New York Times, the last major U.S. family-owned newspaper, has seen its market value fall 50 percent to $1.8 billion as print advertising dropped and readers migrated to the Internet for news." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBezos Paid a ‘Friendship Premium’ for the Washington Post

The Missiles That Brought Down TWA Flight 800

"If the U.S. public began to raise a fuss about U.S. missile strikes that blow up large numbers of civilians at wedding parties abroad, it’s not beyond the realm of the imaginable that the U.S. government would begin blaming the explosions on faulty candles in the wedding cakes. A similarly implausible excuse was used to explain the 1996 explosion of TWA flight 800 off Long Island, New York, and the U.S. public has thus far either swallowed the story whole or ignored the matter. If you watch Kristina Borjesson’s new film, TWA Flight 800, you’ll see a highly persuasive case that this passenger jet full of passengers was brought down by missiles, killing all on board." Continue reading →

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There is no terrorist threat: The feds want you to think there is

"Nothing can be said for certain as to what prompted the State Department to close more than 20 embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa last Sunday, and this is by design. But it is no excuse not to raise the possibility that Americans are eating a summer salad of nonsense served to justify objectionable surveillance practices now coming in for scrutiny. This prospect seems so self-evident that one feels almost silly raising it, except that so few have. Let us insert it into the conversation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThere is no terrorist threat: The feds want you to think there is

The New, Improved 1984

"Have you noticed that every key metric of the economy is constantly being revised, rewriting history and installing a shiny new set of 'facts'? The 'headline number' is always positive, and its downward revision buried in an avalanche of new data. The revisions are so constant and so extreme that the recognition of this constant revision of history to suit the political needs of the current regime has been numbed; everyone knows the numbers are intended to paint a positive picture of a devolving, fragile economy and society, but we prefer this propaganda illusion to the harsh reality. Why? Because half of us are getting a direct check, benefit or payment from the state." Continue reading →

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State Of Mind: The Psychology of Control

"Are we controlled? To what extent and by whom? What does it mean for humanity's future? From cradle to grave our parents, peers, institutions and society inform our values and behaviors but this process has been hijacked. State Of Mind examines the science of control that has evolved over generations to keep us firmly in place so that dictators, power brokers and corporate puppeteers may profit from our ignorance and slavery. From the anvil of compulsory schooling to media and entertainment, we are kept in perpetual bondage to the ideas that shape our actions." Continue reading →

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Maine Governor LePage: I’d like to blow up newspaper building

"Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) wasted no time in making a disturbing joke after boarding a flight simulator during a Friday appearance, the Bangor Daily News reported on Friday. 'I want to find the Press Herald building and blow it up,' LePage said in video posted online from his appearance at an event hosted by defense contractor Pratt & Whitney, referring to the Portland Press Herald. LePage later told a WMTW-TV reporter he was targeting both newspapers in the simulation. Later that day, LePage sent a tweet to the Press-Herald, saying, 'Threatened? It was a joke, folks.' Local FBI officials told the Press-Herald they did not expect him to carry out such a threat." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMaine Governor LePage: I’d like to blow up newspaper building

Pepe Escobar: Vlad the Hammer vs Obama the Wimp

"Vlad the Hammer can sense a wimp of Carter-esque proportions like a polar bear hunting a seal. He quickly evaluated how the Obama administration turned its already shaky credibility to ashes on two simultaneous fronts; because of the scale of the Orwellian/Panopticon complex detailed by Snowden's leaks, and because of the way he was being mercilessly hunted. The New York Times posted an editorial justifying the cancelation of the summit, saying, 'Mr Putin is a repressive and arrogant leader who treats his people with contempt.' Right; and Snow White lives in the White House." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: Vlad the Hammer vs Obama the Wimp

Peter Schiff: The Half Full Economy

"The most recent GDP release from Washington has caused many to double down on their belief that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering Quantitative Easing sometime later this year. While I believe that is a fantasy given our economy's extreme dependence on QE, market observers should have learned long ago that the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) initial GDP estimates can't be trusted. A perusal of their subsequent GDP revisions in the last five years reveals a clear trend: They are almost twice as likely to revise initial estimates down rather than up, and the downward adjustments have been much larger on average." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff: The Half Full Economy

The courage of Bradley Manning will inspire others to seize their moment of truth

"The critical moment in the political trial of the century was on 28 February when Bradley Manning stood and explained why he had risked his life to leak tens of thousands of official files. It was a statement of morality, conscience and truth: the very qualities that distinguish human beings. This was not deemed mainstream news in America; and were it not for Alexa O'Brien, an independent freelance journalist, Manning's voice would have been silenced. Working through the night, she transcribed and released his every word. It is a rare, revealing document." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe courage of Bradley Manning will inspire others to seize their moment of truth