Comcast Eyes the Magic Kingdom

By
Evan Derkacz,

AlterNet

February 12, 2004

Forget the merger of AOL and Time Warner. If the King of Cable buys the keys to the Magic Kingdom, Comcast will become the largest media conglomerate in the country.

Even as oral arguments in a crucial lawsuit concerning media ownership limits are being heard in a federal appeals court in Philadelphia, Comcast has announced its 'unsolicited' proposal to merge with Disney. The union of the nation's largest cable provider with the entertainment industry giant would create a mega-corporation that would dwarf existing titans of media, including Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Time Warner, and Viacom. It's a move that media reform groups describe as a serious "threat to American democracy."

hydrarchist writes:

Comcast-Disney Merger Should Be Rejected By Bush Administration/FCC

Proposed Mega-Media Monster Monopoly Direct Result of Powell Policies

February 11, 2004

Contact: Jeff Chester, Center for Digital Democracy (202) 494-7100; (301) 270-3938

Washington, DC: Comcast's proposed takeover of the Walt Disney Company (ABC) is a deal that should be unacceptable to federal officials, who are entrusted with protecting the public interest. A Comcast-Disney combine would permit one entity to dominate cable system distribution in the largest markets in the US (8 out of 10 top markets); control a broadcast TV network and the dozens--if not hundreds--of digital channels from its owned-and-affiliated stations; own cable content including ESPN, Toon, Disney, Golf, E, and TV One; as well as remain the major broadband ISP. Given Microsoft's investment in Comcast and its new relation with Disney, there are also implications for every desktop and set-top. Comcast has opposed any federal policy that would ensure that the broadband Internet operates on an open and nondiscriminatory basis.

"Bloomberg Sparks Speculation: Giuliani As Convention Keynote Speaker?"

wnbc.com

NEW YORK -- Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as the keynote speaker for the
Republican National Convention?

Organizers of the event that begins Aug. 30 in Manhattan say they haven't
nailed down those details, but Giuliani's successor, Michael Bloomberg,
caused a stir when he suggested the idea on Monday.

Anonymous Comrade writes

"BBC is saying:
Blair and Bush Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize"

The pair have been put forward by a Norwegian politician who said toppling the Iraqi dictator had reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction. It had also laid the foundations for a democratic Iraq, said Jan Simonsen of the right-wing Party of Progress.

Anti-war campaigners condemned the move as "completely unbelievable" and said it made a mockery of the prize."

And i say, we should get out there and demand the withdrawal of the two from the list of nominees. They (Bush and Blair) are under investigation for the crimes they committed in Iraq,and Nobel prizes will give them a bonus?
Write to the Nobel Commitee and demand to stop this hypocritical show.
Tell them what you think of the 2 criminals.

The email of Nobel prizes:

postmaster@nobel.no (Peace Prize Commitee)

info@nobel.se (General)

hydrarchist writes

"Waging War on the BBC
By Greg Palast, January 29, 2004

He did not say, "hello," or even his name, just left a one-word message: "Whitewash."

It came from an embattled journalist whispering from inside the bowels of a television and radio station under siege, on a small island off the coast of Ireland: from BBC London. And another call, a colleague at the Guardian, said, "The future of British journalism is very bleak."

"New York City Cops Training for GOP Convention"

Glenn Thrush, Newsday

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the NYPD is creating a specialized
training program for rookie cops to prepare them for possible disturbances
at this summer's Republican National Convention.

The commissioner plans to deploy many of the 730 recruits who were sworn
in Wednesday to the area surrounding the convention at Madison Square
Garden after they graduate in July.

k-hello.org writes

"Play Infowarmation"

Infowarmation

We live among information: TV news, radio, newspaper, web pages. Everyday, everyone dedicates some time to inform about world news. How information is distributed?

FCC Chief Wants Crackdown on Airwaves Obscenity

Bono's On-Air Comment Stirs Cry for Increased Broadcaster Fines

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- FCC Commissioner Michael Powell said Wednesday he
is calling for a dramatic increase in fines for broadcasters that
allow the "F-word" and other obscenities on the air.

"Facts Must Be Free Whatever The Cost"

Patti Waldmeir, Financial Times, January 12, 2004

Talk is cheap on thc internet but facts, for the most part, are free. That
is the best thing about life in thc digital age: free music is a sideshow;
free information is what really makes the internet worth having.

"Suicide Terrorism"

The Economist

“I have always dreamed”, says an anarchist in Joseph Conrad's novel “The Secret Agent”, “of a band of men absolute in their resolve to discard all scruples...No pity for anything on earth, including themselves, and death enlisted for good and all in the service of humanity.” But, Conrad's anarchist complains, “I could never get as many as three such men together.” These days, there seems to be a superabundance of people willing to die in order to commit murder: in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Chechnya and Russia, Pakistan, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Is this phenomenon new? If so, what explains it? And what can be done about it?