That show is morally repugnant propaganda intended to build public support for torture. No wonder Fox is responsible for it.
Posted by libhomo at March 2, 2008 04:54 AMSome highlights from Thomas B. Edsall's article, "Mark Penn Ties Drag Clinton Down".
As the CEO of powerhouse PR giant Burson-Marsteller, Penn heads a bipartisan corporate conglomerate specializing in influence peddling, lobbying, phony front groups, and manufactured hype. Penn, the network of companies that he oversees, and the corporations to which he answers, represent precisely what voters have come to dislike most violently about Washington: the relentless cultivation and manipulation of political connections to generate wealth for a handful of operatives, all at taxpayer expense and in blatant defiance of the public will.Posted by Seven of Six at March 2, 2008 08:15 AMThere is no one in politics today who has ascended the special interest ladder as steeply as Penn. He's no Jack Abramoff, but in the public mind Penn, and the corporate structure that supports him, are an integral part of the same lucrative and corrupt system that produced Abramoff.
The problem Penn poses for the Clinton campaign is reflected in the numerous stories in the media about Penn's conflicts as CEO of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, on the one hand, and as chief strategist for Hillary Clinton, on the other.
To cite one example, just when Clinton was faulting Obama for his ties to Exelon Corporation, it was disclosed that Exelon had paid Burson-Marsteller over $230,000 in contracting fees.
Similarly, after Blackwater USA security guards killed 8 Iraqi civilians, the company turned to BKSH, a subsidiary of Penn's Burson-Marsteller, for strategic advice on how to minimize the negative impact of dealing with Congressional inquires.
Such conflicts only touch the surface. For the media, Burson-Marsteller and its affiliated companies could easily become a full-time beat pumping out a cascade of additional stories:
* The creation of such seemingly innocuous organizations as the National Smokers Alliance, European Women for HPV Testing, and the Coalition for Clean and Renewable Energy - organizations which are in fact the creation of corporations seeking to win lucrative support for contentious fights over smoking in public places, the promotion of highly-remunerative testing for a sexually transmitted human papilloma virus, and the expansion of nuclear power facilities.
* The laundry list of controversial Burson-Marsteller -- and its subsidiary BKSH -- clients includes US Smokeless (i.e., chewing) Tobacco, Johnnie Walker (distilled spirits), Morongo Casino Resort & Spa (gambling), Lockheed Martin (weapons), and Chevron Texaco (oil/gas) and Bristol Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, and Wyeth/Amgen (pharmaceutical).
* Penn's work for BOTOX, as described on his firm's website, sharply contradict Clinton's feminist commitments and ironically clash with her particularly strong support among older women:
"Burson-Marsteller worked to redefine the BOTOX image to speak to its benefits, drive a relationship with potential end users, minimize safety concerns and reflect its flexibility. Among the critical issues that needed to be addressed were consumers' perceptions regarding the side effects and toxicity of BOTOX Cosmetic....A multimedia initiative targeted key print, broadcast and online media outlets in top U.S. markets, and physician "key opinion leaders" conveyed scientific messages that provided objective, independent thought. The campaign resulted in more than 743 million positive media impressions for the BOTOX brand. Among prescription products, these results are second only to the benchmark launch of Viagra. In the first nine months of 2002, sales increased $90.3 million over the same period in the previous year. Media highlights include coverage in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek (cover story), Time, Associated Press, Reuters, Dow Jones, Bloomberg and UPI. The BOTOX brand was also featured in stories on "Good Morning America," "Today Show," "CBS Early Show," ABC, CBS, FOX CNBC, CNN, CNNfn, Fox News Channel and MSNBC.
* An equally controversial list of foreign clients including the Pakistan People's Party, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Colombia, Armenia, and Greece.
24 is the best show on television.
Quit being such whiny little pussies.
Posted by RAM at March 2, 2008 03:10 PMRAM, you have become a monster.
Posted by gay veteran at March 2, 2008 05:55 PM"Sixty-four percent of Israelis say the government must hold direct talks with the Hamas government in Gaza toward a cease-fire and the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit."
Poll: Most Israelis back direct talks with Hamas on Shalit by Yossi Verter, Haaretz, 27/02/2008; http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/958473.html
"The question remains as to why when the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians, some senior Israeli officials, and Hamas leaders are all talking about a ceasefire, the Israeli government refuses to accept one and the US refuses to call for one."
"The Palestinian and Israeli populations...are paying the price of a failed policy, pushed by Washington and its local clients, which attempts to demonize, isolate and destroy any movement that resists the order that the United States seeks to impose on the region.
Israeli minister threatens "holocaust" as public demands ceasefire talks Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 29 February 2008
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9354.shtml
"The moment that war begins in the Gaza Strip, it will not be a war against Hamas; it will be seen as a war against the most downtrodden and poor segment of the Palestinian people, against women and children, a war that cannot leave the West Bank indifferent. The opening of a second front, on the east, against Israel, should then come as no surprise."
Get ready for the third intifada by Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz, 02/03/2008; http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/959645.html
Since Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 49 innocent Gaza civilians, including 25 children, have been killed and 250 injured in needless Israeli military attacks encouraged by the US government. Our candidates say nothing.
Posted by Pvt. Keepout at March 2, 2008 08:37 PMHorton also has a super article in the new Harper's on the politization of Justice under Bush.
Posted by bob h at March 3, 2008 04:04 AM