TWITTER AND THE BLOGS COVER MUMBAI BEST; NEW FILM COMING
November 27th, 2008 - by: danny
NEW PLUNDER FILM IN PROGRESS
Globalvision is producing a film on the financial crisis based on my book Plunder. So far, our own financial crisis makes it hard for us to finish the film. Reader help and reactions welcome. Here is our first teaser. Can you help? Write Dissector@mediachannel.org
COVERING THE ATTACKS IN INDIA
WHAT IF THEY HAD A XMAS, AND NO ONE SHOPPED?
CNN FINANCIAL COVERAGE QUESTIONED
THURS NIGHT: (AP)
MUMBAI, India — Indian commandoes scoured two luxury hotels room-by-room for survivors and holed-up militants Friday and were in a tense standoff at a Jewish center, more than a day after a chain of attacks across Mumbai by suspected Muslim militants left at least 119 people dead.The well-coordinated strikes by small bands of gunmen starting Wednesday night left India’s financial center shell-shocked, but the sporadic gunfire and explosions at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels dwindled overnight, indicating the siege might be winding down.
MUMBAI, India (AP) Security forces assaulted a Jewish center in Mumbai where Muslim militants were believed holed up with possible hostages Friday, with black-clad commandos dropping from a Indian helicopter as sharpshooters opened fire on the five-story building.
The attack came as Indian commandoes scoured two luxury hotels room-by-room for survivors and holed-up militants, more than a day after a chain of attacks across India’s financial center by suspected Muslim militants left at least 119 people dead.
The well-coordinated strikes by small bands of gunmen starting Wednesday night left the city shell-shocked, but the sporadic gunfire and explosions at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels dwindled overnight, indicating the siege might be winding down.
At the headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch, a commando assault began shortly after dawn following a tense night in which six trucks of soldiers had been brought in to surround the building.
Snipers stationed in buildings opposite the center began the attack, with sustained fire on the building as at least nine commandos lowered themselves by rope onto the roof from a circling Indian air force helicopter.
ANALYSIS: DEEPAK CHOPRA–TOO HOT FOR CNN?
PRESS TV: ATTACKS MAY BE RESPONSE TO US POLICES IN REGION
BLOGS DEBATE SATURATION MEDIA COVERAGE IN MUMBAI
CNN is in its element with this Mumbai terror-tainment crisis. It is a a chance to go “live” and tap an affiliate’s “hot” footage. It’s a long running dramatic story with lots of deaths and uncertainty, basically reprising the body count with witness stories. There is, of course, more to this – perhaps a spillover from Pakistan or Afghanistan – where a subrosa war within the war pits India and Pakistan—perhaps the work of local terror groups. An Indian colleague of mine writes from Delhi that a terror supremo tied to Omar Sheikh, the man convicted in the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl may be involved, along with Jihadis in Pakistan. He writes:
“azhar masood’s, omar sheikh’s patron, as well as the underworld and al qaeda, finger prints are all over this – using disgruntled local elements in india.”
Unilever was having a big corporate meeting there in what is India’s financial sector. The attackers went after them, and the terror police. It was well coordinated, a 9-11 in its daring and scope. It shows that we are all vulnerable. I have found the best coverage online.
From Globalvoicesonline.org:TWITTER OUTSCOOPS THE CABLE NETS
“The terror attacks in Mumbai have shocked India and the world. The mainstream media sources covered the news extensively and the citizen journalists were also equal to the task as the events unfolded. The Wired has mentioned how Twitter made an impact as a source of first hand information during this tragedy. Twitter feeds from numerous people have been sharing latest information about what is being said in media, blogs, or information from first hand accounts on the attacks. Dozens of twitter updates are appearing every single minute.
Shefali Yogendra explains why twitter is the perfect tool for emergencies:
As Mumbai saw an unprecedented instance of what can only be described as ‘distributed terrorism’, Twitter sprung into action. Twelve hours later, Twitter users all over the world were saying they found Twitter updates more reliable, timely and clear.
The following characteristics of Twitter make it a perfect tool for use in emergencies – both for disseminating updates and information, and for coordinating help efforts such as contacting friends and relatives, and organizing blood donation drives.
ANGER AT THE MEDIA IN THE BLOGS
Anger at the media for their coverage of the terror attacks in Mumbai is apparent on the blogosphere.
For one, the mainstream media appears to have taken the approach of “shock and shake,” as opposed to verifying rumors before reporting them. But the nation appears glued to their television sets, as it is probably the most “live” source of information at this point in time. Kalyan Varma writes:
“In tough economic and global times like this, we will win only if we move on with our lives and keep this behind. This is how we fight terror, not overreacting to this, not invading countries and giving up our freedom. Bad enough the security guards check my car and bags each time I enter a mall or hotel here in Bangalore, I do not want to give up any more of my freedom.”
and someone, please shut up Barkha Dutt of NDTV. She is causing more damage to the country by FUD than the terrorists themselves.
And from the perspective of a media man, Smoke Signals writes a poignant post on news and the self:
“The rational corner of my mind tells me that there is no security measure, no multi-core security ‘plan’ that can permanently inoculate me and my fellow Mumbaikars against what is becoming a gory ritual.
But who, listening to a colleague call in with details of grenade explosions and the rattle of machine guns and mounting body counts or watching images of the Taj Mahal Hotel — more, to me and my fellow Mumbaikars than a ‘hotel’; its facade is as much a part of my Mumbai-ness as is vada pav and cutting chai and the boon-granting Ganesha of Siddhivinayak — can stay rational?
That other me, the irrational me that showered and dressed and drove to work today, watches news reports of the Prime Minister talking to his wannabe successor to work out travel plans [Shall we go to Mumbai together or separately? Prime Ministerial plane or commercial airliner? Window seat or aisle?] and wonders, don’t you guys have anything more important, more immediate, to do? Does Mumbai really need, want, either or both of you to regurgitate the cud of banality, to trot out prefabricated statements on the order of ‘The country must come together to resist this threat to its security?”
Falstaff comments on the relentless media coverage, and if someone has stopped to think about how it might end up helping the attackers:
“It’s a particularly bad idea because it seems to me that most media channels are too busy trying to sensationalize the news to bother thinking through the consequences of what they’re saying. It’s not just that much of the coverage seems to be designed to amplify the general hysteria and panic, it’s also that watching journalists describe what the police are doing or report on who is still trapped inside the hotels, I find myself wondering whether anyone’s considered that at least some of that information might be helping the attackers.”
IRAQ: GOVERNMENT SAYS US TROOPS CAN STAY – Reports David Swanson:
The Iraqi Parliament has approved a treaty with the United States or rather its government or rather its lame duck president, although its lame duck president has already made clear his intention to “interpret” it to mean whatever the heck he wants, meaning that the new president will be free to do that or not as he and his progressive supporters or he and his neocon advisers see fit.
AFP reports:
“The vote came after a flurry of last-minute negotiations in which the main Sunni parties secured a package of political reforms from the government and a commitment to hold a referendum on the pact in the middle of next year. Should the Iraqi government decide to cancel the pact after the referendum, it would have to give Washington one year’s notice, meaning that troops would be allowed to remain in the country only until the middle of 2010.”
So, that could get the United States out of Iraq in a year and a half, or about the time frame Obama promised anyway, except perhaps more completely than in Obama’s original plan. Or the United States and Iraq could simply agree to get out faster or more slowly; nothing is carved in stone.
GUARDIAN: THIS A MEASURE TO GET RID OF THE US
GI NEWS: U.S. Government Has A “Different” Interpretation Of Agreement With Iraq That Was Kept Secret From Iraqis, of course:
– They say U. S. Troops can attack anywhere in Iraq without local government permission;
– They say U.S. Armed Forces can use Iraq bases to attack other nations.
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has adopted a much looser interpretation than the Iraqi government of several key provisions of the pending U.S.-Iraq security agreement, U.S. officials said Tuesday — just hours before the Iraqi parliament was to hold its historic vote.
These include a provision that bans the launch of attacks on other countries from Iraq, a requirement to notify the Iraqis in advance of U.S. military operations and the question of Iraqi legal jurisdiction over American troops and military contractors.
LET US REMEMBER – List of Iraqi academics assassinated in Iraq during the US-led occupation – Pakistan Daily
The following relation has been created against the Occupation and for the Sovereignty of Iraq with the information provided by direct Iraqi university sources and international and Arab media. It only includes names and data referred to university academics assassinated during the Occupation period.
Note: The academics murdered are prominent in the fields of science, medicine, history, and engineering.
WHILE WE ARE WATCHING SOMALI PIRATES Largest-Ever Seizure of Iraqi Antiquities Made in Dubai – The Media Line news agency
The customs authority in Dubai on Wednesday made what it called the single-largest seizure of smuggled Iraqi antiquities, when customs officers found 128 items hidden in a concealed compartment on board a boat that tried to enter the small Gulf kingdom, ArabianBusiness.com reported.
According to the report, the vessel was stopped when it entered the Dubai Creek Entry and the captain insisted on a speedy customs clearing process since his ship was empty. Customs officers became suspicious and decided to board the ship.
On board the officers found what looked like a false partition wall and asked the captain to remove it. Behind the wall the officers found cases containing objects including stone sculptures, pottery and silver vessels, gold and silver coins, worked pieces of gold and silver, and jewels, some more that 5,000 years old.
Some 15,000 artifacts were stolen from the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad in the chaos that followed the American invasion in 2003. According to the FBI, an estimated 7,000—10,000 objects are still missing from the museum.
JFK Episode Suggests Obama’s Iraq Plan at Risk – Analysis by Gareth Porter
WASHINGTON, 27 Nov (IPS) – The decision by President-elect Barack Obama to keep Robert M. Gates on as defence secretary has touched off a debate over whether Obama can pursue his commitment to rapid withdrawal from Iraq even though Gates has defended George W. Bush’s surge policy and opposed Obama’s 16-month timetable for withdrawal.
Obama did not explicitly address Iraq at a press conference Wednesday, saying only that he would ‘provide a vision’ on foreign policy and ‘make sure that my team is implementing’ it. The appointments, which will be formally announced Monday, are expected to include Gates and Gen. James Jones as national security advisor, who has also been critical of Obama’s withdrawal timetable.
But the one historical precedent of a president seeking to get an unwilling military to go along with a presidential troop withdrawal plan suggests that Obama will be unable to implement his plan for Iraq without the defence secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff fully on board.
That is the lesson of President John F. Kennedy’s effort in 1962 and 1963 to get the U.S. military commanders in Vietnam to adopt a plan for withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Vietnam by the end of 1965 — the only other historical case of a president who tried to pursue a timetable for rapid withdrawal of combat troops from a war against the wishes of field commanders.
Obama, like Kennedy, is an extraordinarily self-confident leader, and he may well believe that he can impose his Iraq policy on a national security team that is not sympathetic to it. He reportedly made it clear to CENTCOM commander, Gen. David Petraeus, in a face-to-face meeting in Baghdad last July that he would not bow to military pressures to alter his plan, based on Iraq-centred concerns.
But the little-known story of Kennedy’s timetable for U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam underlines the critical importance to a president of having his two top national security officials on board in order to have any chance of prevailing over the resistance of commanders in the field. .
Kennedy was trying to present himself to the national security community as centrist by striking a strong anti-Communist posture in public. But behind the scenes, he was trying to push through a timetable for withdrawal from Vietnam.
Obama also has political interests that will inevitably conflict with putting the full weight of his office behind his withdrawal plan — mainly demonstrating to the national security bureaucracy and the political elite that he is really within the post-Cold War consensus on the use of U.S. military power in the Middle East…
HEADLINE: Plan For US diplomats in Iran shelved: Rice – By MATTHEW LEE — 11/27/08
WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that a decision on whether to send U.S. diplomats to Iran for the first time in three decades will be left to President-elect Barack Obama’s administration.
She said setting up a diplomatic outpost, or interest section, in Iran remains viable but that it is now too late for President Bush’s foreign policy team to move ahead with the plan that was first floated this summer.
“At this late moment, I think it is probably better that this decision be left to the next administration,” Rice told reporters at a Stare Department news conference.
FIVE CRITICAL US FOREIGN POLICY POSTS TO WATCH – Work Gets Done by Federal Agencies Throughout the Ranks, Not Just the Top
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MONITORING THE COLLAPSE: SHOPPING DOWN, DOWN, DOWN
November 27th, 2008 - by: danny
THE ECONOMIST SUMS UP WHERE WE ARE:
Nov 27th 2008. THE prognosis is looking ever more grave. What began 15 months ago with a seizure of the credit markets has become a disease with an alarming list of real economic symptoms. America, Britain, the euro zone and Japan are already in a recession that threatens to be the worst, in some places, for a quarter of a century and possibly since the Depression.
American consumers, unable to borrow and fearful for their jobs, are cutting spending; so are firms, short of cash and worried about sales. German business confidence is at a 15-year low. Japan’s exports to both rich countries and emerging ones are falling. Emerging economies are suffering too, as commodity prices fall and capital flees faster than in those countries’ own crises of a decade ago. In some countries-notably the United States-a vicious deflationary spiral of banks withdrawing credit and demand contracting is no longer unimaginable.
As China Goes, so Goes…?
Reuters: China’s economic downturn deepens
LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China warned on Thursday its economic downturn could threaten stability and pressure grew on the European Central Bank to make a big cut in interest rates to help contain the global financial crisis.
US SHOPPING WAY DOWN – WASHINGTON POST
The American consumer is scared stiff.
New economic data show that last month consumers were not tempted by retailers offering deep discounts. They were not enticed by lower home prices. And even though falling gas prices made their wallets a little fatter, they held on to their newfound savings and put off buying big-ticket items such as autos and home appliances.
“What consumers are not spending on gas, they are not taking to the mall,” said University of Maryland economist Peter Morici. “They are not spending it on a car or home improvement, but to rebuild their savings.”
HOW DO YOU SHOP WITH NO MONEY?: RGE MONITOR HAS THE FACTS ON PERSONAL SPENDING
Personal income and Disposable personal income up 0.3% and 0.4% respectively in Oct 2008; personal spending plunged 1% (most in 7 years). In real terms, the decline in consumption has extended back for 5 consecutive months. Its cumulative decline now totals 1.8%. The last time real consumption declined for 5 consecutive months was during the 1991 recession. The savings rate has jumped to 2.4%, its highest level, apart from distortions caused by the tax rebates earlier this year, since Dec 2003. Personal income growth has been flat over the past 5 months
Q&A WITH THE AP ON THE FED MONEY PRINTING
Q: How did the Fed suddenly come up with $800 billion to fund these two programs, when the Bush administration had to engage in extensive negotiations with Congress to get legislation for a $700 billion program to help the nation’s banks?
A: The short answer is that the Fed used the power it has to print money. It doesn’t actually crank up printing presses, but it can create all the money it needs through a few computer key strokes.
Q: That’s pretty impressive. How did it get that kind of power?
A: Congress gave the Federal Reserve that power when it created the Fed in 1913 as the nation’s central bank, responsible for controlling the nation’s money supply. The Fed’s goal is to create enough money to keep the economy growing at a steady rate while guarding against creating so much money that it triggers inflation.
Q: How much extra money has it created during the current crisis?
A: Right before the credit crisis first struck with force in August 2007, the Fed’s balance sheet stood at $850 billion. As of last week, that figure totaled $2.2 trillion – nearly a threefold increase.
Q: What is the Fed doing with all of that money?
A: It is essentially pumping it into the financial system, mainly by making loans to banks, giving them added resources with the hope that they will turn around and make more loans to businesses and consumers.
Q: Isn’t there a danger that creating all that extra money will fuel inflation?
A: Analysts say that the threat of inflation is not the biggest risk facing the country at the moment.
WHY NOT HERE?
LONDON —WSJ: The U.K. government has extracted a pledge from credit-card issuers to give struggling borrowers an extra 60 days to pay, in its latest effort to ease the impact of the financial crisis on the economy.
The move, which comes days after the government announced a £20 billion ($30.8 billion) economic stimulus package, is aimed at giving borrowers extra breathing room to restructure their debts, the government said.
AYN RAND’S ATLAS SHRUGGED UPDATED FOR CRISIS
MICHAEL HUDSON:THE OBAMA LET DOWN
Obama was elected with overwhelming approval to inaugurate an era of change. And at his November 25 press conference, he said that his decisive victory gave him a mandate to change the direction in which America is moving. But his recent economic and foreign policy appointments make it clear that when he chose “change” as his campaign slogan, he was NOT referring to the financial, insurance and real estate (FIRE) sectors, nor to foreign policy. These are where the vested interests concentrate their wealth and power. And change already has been accelerating here. Unfortunately, its direction has been for the top 1% of America’s population to raise their share of in the returns to wealth from 37% ten years ago to 57% five years ago and an estimated nearly 70% today.
The change that Mr. Obama is talking about is largely marginal to this wealth, not touching its economic substance — or its direction. No doubt he will bring about a welcome change in race relations, environmental regulations, and a more civil rule of law. And he probably will give wage earners an income-tax break (thereby enabling them to keep on paying their bank debts, incidentally). As for the rich, they prefer not to earn income in the first place. Taxes need to be paid on income, so they take their returns in the form of capital gains. And simply avoiding losses is the order of the day in the present meltdown.
Where losses cannot be avoided, the government will bail out the rich on their financial investments, but not wage earners on their debts. On that Friday night last October when Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain held their final debate, Mr. Obama was fully on board with the bailouts. And this week’s appointment of the “Yeltsin” team who sponsored Russia’s privatization giveaways in the mid-1990s — Larry Summers and his protégés from the Clinton’s notorious Robert Rubin regime — shows that he knows his place when it comes to the proper relationship between a political candidate and his major backers. It is to protect the vested interests first of all, while focusing voters’ attention on policies whose main appeal is their ability to distract attention from the fact that no real change is being made at the economic core and its power relationships.
NC: YOUR BAILOUT MONEY AT WORK
How can you give cash compensation to an executive, yet claim it is not a salary or bonus? You call it a “retention bonus,” No, I am not making this up.
Note that AIG chose to make this disclosure the day before Thanksgiving, clearly choosing a time when it would attract the least notice. Not that it really matters. The talk about restricting executive compensation to bailout recipients has been just that, talk.
From the Financial Times
One day after announcing strict limits on salaries and bonuses for its top tier of executives, AIG revealed that some of those executives will receive millions in “retention bonuses” next year…
The retention bonuses for 130 key executives were disclosed by AIG in September, after the US government rescued the firm from bankruptcy by purchasing 79.9 per cent of the company for $85bn. After the government takeover, Edward Liddy, the former Allstate chairman, was named chief executive and AIG offered retention bonuses to Mr Wintrob, head of AIG’s retirement services division, among others …
FROM THE TRENDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
RHINEBECK, NY 27 November 2008 — In November 2007, we predicted “The Panic of ’08″ as a Top Trend for 2008. We were so sure of our forecast that we secured the domain name, Panicof08.com in November of 2007.
This November we predict “The Collapse of ’09″ as a Top Trend for 2009. We are so sure of this forecast that we have recently secured the domain name, Collapseof09.com.
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PRAISING AND QUESTIONING CNN, CHINA MEDIA DIVERSIFIES, LETTERS
November 27th, 2008 - by: danny
In June 1980, I was part of the team at CNN just after Ted Turner launched the network with the UN flag flying over its headquarters. I have always admired its potential and been distressed by the many ways in which I didn’t live up to that potential. I wrote about my experience in my first book, ‘The More You Watch, The Less You Know,’ and about CNN many times on Mediachannel.
I have been critical but tonight, despite the big show/celebrity presentation of the CNN Heros, which does introduce us to some of the people who deserve visibility, not only in big events but every day as part of the news.
I was touched by many of the stories and inspired by the dedication and projects of the people they honored. Congrats to winner Liz McCartney and to all the others. Hats off to Anderson Cooper for pulling it off. This one program showed us what a TV channel with a conscience can do, even with all of its sponsors, glitz and pretension.
At the same time, there are concerns I would be remiss not to share about the day-to-day coverage and even some labor practices.
WHY CNN CAN’T COVER THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
Paul Kredosky writes on SeekingAlpha:
My friend Dale Dougherty has put up a thoughtful and laudably straightforward post over at BoingBoing on why traditional media — especially the televised variant — is doing such a crummy job of covering the ongoing credit crisis. Here is an excerpt:
5) Real experts are hard to find, especially ones with big hair. So ever-present talking heads such as Suze Orman ramble on and on in front of Larry King and others. Here’s an incredible ramble from Suze Orman on CNN:
People feel they need medication because they are panicking. It’s as if the economy right now is in the I.C.U. of a hospital. We are in intensive care and they are throwing everything type of medication at us to cure what is going on. They are panicking because why? Nothing is working. They tried this, it didn’t work. They tried that medication, it didn’t work. They are running out of prescriptions to give it. We are going to be in the I.C.U. for a while. Eventually, I don’t know when that will be, six months, a year, a year and a half, we will get out, we’ll be in the hospital then. We’ll stay in the hospital for about a year or two. After another year or two we will end up in rehab and then we’ll be okay. This is a long stretch. People have to stop panicking.
Makes me think of Amy Winehouse singing “They try to make me go to rehab, I say no, no, no.” Rehab is taking place over on CNBC.
…10) Lastly, the TV media is no better off than we are at understanding this complex crisis. On a gut level, viewers know what the story is, that it’s about them, their future and their children’s future. They have specific questions that are difficult to answer (see the Suze Orman blog on CNN where it is promised that she’ll answer these many, many questions; she doesn’t, of course.) and they have general worries (should I panic?) that are hard to resolve. While we try to absorb as much information as possible, we keep having the same conversation over and over:
Q. What’s going on? A. I don’t know. It’s hard to tell.
NEWS NOT ON CNN
CNN Ordered to Rehire 110 Workers Fired for Belonging to a Union
by James Parks, Nov 24, 2008
This report likely won’t be on CNN’s “Headline News,”but after five years, former workers at CNN have finally gained justice. In a decision made public today, an administrative law judge ordered the network to rehire 110 workers who were fired because they were union members. CNN also was ordered to recognize the workers’ unions, National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA (NABET-CWA) locals 31 and 11.
Judge Arthur Amchan found that CNN violated the rights of more than 250 employees at the network’s bureaus in Washington, D.C., and New York City when it ended its subcontract with Team Video Services (TVS), whose employees were represented by NABET-CWA. He also ruled that CNN discriminated against TVS employees who wanted to continue working at CNN’s bureaus to avoid having to recognize and bargain with the union.
REUTERS: MEDIA GETTING FREEER IN CHINA
China’s media is not as tightly controlled as foreigners make it out to be but serving demands to maintain “social stability” means reporters must heed official guidance, two senior Chinese editors said on Thursday.
China is frequently criticised by rights groups for the tight leash it keeps on domestic media, for locking up reporters who write stories which anger the government and covering-up bad news.
Yet while the ruling Communist Party’s propaganda department does “guide” newspapers, television and radio stations about what they can and cannot report, that grip is loosening, said Wang Liang, head of Beijing People’s Broadcasting Corp.“Perhaps on some issues the propaganda department will have some opinions,” he told a meeting with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China. “But we have noticed some changes, though perhaps they may not seem big, or that the changes are not happening fast enough.”
One outspoken critic of China’s censorship system said Wang’s account of press controls was far too upbeat.
“There’s been no change at all,” Li Datong, a former editor at the China Youth Daily who was shunted aside for resisting censorship, told Reuters. “It’s the same as before. The propaganda department has total control.”
LETTERS
GREG BANKS, SIMSBURY CT
By spreading the blame he takes the heat off of the criminals, the oligarchy that knew exactly what it was doing and that was lining their own pockets like overfed pigs at the trough. I am sure you realize this but since I just started catching up with your stuff I wanted to confirm.
BRENT PALMER: “I think you’re doing a great job. You’ve filled a big hole in news reporting”
BRUCE SIMS:
“Hi Danny; small correction. What Obama actually said was ’2.5 million EXISTING and new jobs, not ‘new’ jobs. Very different and an easy number to ‘game’ given an automaker bailout.
Also, I am one of those American’s who worked for an employer that misclassified my work. I sued and have received a settlement BUT the others I worked with did NOT take advantage of the class action suit and all I can guess is that they were fearful of losing their jobs (despite the law indicating no action shall be taken against them).
And here in CA, the Schwarz’s budget proposal included provisions to weaken considerably the existing protections for workers (that the CA Labor Board doesn’t have the resources to investigate-besides the biz community’s lobbying against such investigations).
Celine and Jon write from Capitola:
Really glad we went back to the On Point Archives and heard your hour from October 7. You were charming, self-effacing, knowledgeable and right on! We missed your more recent appearance on KPFA, but we’ll find it on line, we hope. Way to go!
BLACK FRIDAY IS VERY BLACK INDEED
It is “black Friday,” usually the biggest sales day of the year. The retail sector is discounting everything they can this year to get people in the stores. It doesn’t look good. Some of the shopaholics of America will respond, but if you want more unique gifts, visit Mediachannel’s online store. Your purchases help keep the site alive in these dire times.
Comments to dissector@mediachannel.org
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About Danny Schechter
Danny Schechter is an Emmy award winning journalist, television producer and independent filmmaker who also writes, blogs and speaks about media issues.
His latest film is PLUNDER The Crime Of Our Time.
Mr. Schechter is NOT the Godfather of Soul.
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