Tag Archives: deals

Elizabeth Edwards Eulogy and Funeral (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

The funeral of Elizabeth Edwards was held on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C. Her daughter eulogized her as did several good friends. PHOTOS, VIDEO) added by: gmc1

11 reasons why the threat from Al Qaeda is not real

“All governments lie.” You can add to that great quote “and all newspapers lie, too.” -American journalist I. F. Stone. Knowing the truth matters in a democracy because without the truth citizens can’t make informed decisions about government policies that impact their lives. It is not possible to consciously answer fundamental societal questions like “should we go to war?” without a firm grasp of all the facts at hand. When independent journalists fail to provide the simple and straightforward facts to the public, they become complicit in government murder and fraud, and deserve even more ridicule than dishonest government officials and government-owned journalists. 11 Reasons Why The Threat From Al-Qaeda is Not Real Al-Qaeda is either one of these things, or it is a combination of them: a) a completely fake threat; the organization does not exist, b) an organization that exists in small numbers but was created by the CIA to serve a corrupt U.S. foreign policy, and remains a U.S. intelligence asset in the manufactured global war on terrorism, or c) a small organization that exists independently of the U.S. government but its strength and influence in the Middle East is exaggerated by radical policymakers and officials in Washington. Out of all three statements the first and second deserve the most serious attention because they are supported by the evidence listed below. #1. Radical American cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki, who was ordered to be assassinated by President Obama, met with top military officials at the Pentagon months after the 9/11 attacks. #2. CIA Director Leon Panetta revealed in June 2010 on ABC’s This Week that there are less than 100 Al-Qaeda members in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. #3. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), one of the world’s leading security think tanks, published a report this year which said that the threat of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban is exaggerated by Western policymakers. #4. Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview to the Los Angeles Times’s Patt Morrison in October 2010 that Al-Qaeda doesn’t exist. #5. The U.S. government created, and funded Islamic fundamentalism in the 1980s to be used to draw the Soviet Union into Afghanistan, and bleed it to death in a costly and unwinnable war. #6. Robin Cook, who served as a British MP for 22 years and as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001, wrote an article for the Guardian in July 2005, a month before his death, called “The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means.” #7. A BBC article from July 2004 called “Al-Qaeda’s origins and links” reveals that Osama Bin Laden was a CIA agent in the 1980s. #8. J. Michael Springmann, a 20 year foreign service official, and a former Consulate officer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has publicly stated for many years that the CIA brought over Muslim radicals to the United States for secret terrorist training. #9. Germany’s Der Spiegel’s published an article by Siegesmund von Ilsemann called “Arming the Middle East: The Checkered History of American Weapons Deals” in June 2007. The article backed up the reporting done by the BBC, and elsewhere that the United States government “supplied Afghan freedom fighters in the 1980s with money and arms for their struggle against occupying Soviet troops. One of the best customers for the CIA back then was Saudi millionaire Osama Bin Laden.” This account is only half-true. The CIA funded and trained a network of Muslim fighters not to liberate Afghanistan from corrupt Soviet influence, but to create havoc and instigate a Soviet invasion so that it would drain itself of blood and treasure. Once the objective of bringing down the Soviet Union was achieved, the stage was set for the United States and the West to invade Afghanistan and take advantage of the country’s vast resources, from oil to heroin. #10. Selig Harrison, a current member of the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, a former senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and an expert on South Asia, said in March 2001 at a conference called “Terrorism and Regional Security: Managing the Challenges in Asia,” that the CIA and Pakistan’s ISI helped create the backward and tyrannical Taliban. #11. The September 11, 2001 attacks, which serve as the basis for America’s wars in the Middle East, were committed by the United States government with assistance from the government of Israel. This is an indisputable fact added by: maasanova

11 reasons why the threat from Al Qaeda is not real

“All governments lie.” You can add to that great quote “and all newspapers lie, too.” -American journalist I. F. Stone. Knowing the truth matters in a democracy because without the truth citizens can’t make informed decisions about government policies that impact their lives. It is not possible to consciously answer fundamental societal questions like “should we go to war?” without a firm grasp of all the facts at hand. When independent journalists fail to provide the simple and straightforward facts to the public, they become complicit in government murder and fraud, and deserve even more ridicule than dishonest government officials and government-owned journalists. 11 Reasons Why The Threat From Al-Qaeda is Not Real Al-Qaeda is either one of these things, or it is a combination of them: a) a completely fake threat; the organization does not exist, b) an organization that exists in small numbers but was created by the CIA to serve a corrupt U.S. foreign policy, and remains a U.S. intelligence asset in the manufactured global war on terrorism, or c) a small organization that exists independently of the U.S. government but its strength and influence in the Middle East is exaggerated by radical policymakers and officials in Washington. Out of all three statements the first and second deserve the most serious attention because they are supported by the evidence listed below. #1. Radical American cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki, who was ordered to be assassinated by President Obama, met with top military officials at the Pentagon months after the 9/11 attacks. #2. CIA Director Leon Panetta revealed in June 2010 on ABC’s This Week that there are less than 100 Al-Qaeda members in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. #3. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), one of the world’s leading security think tanks, published a report this year which said that the threat of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban is exaggerated by Western policymakers. #4. Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview to the Los Angeles Times’s Patt Morrison in October 2010 that Al-Qaeda doesn’t exist. #5. The U.S. government created, and funded Islamic fundamentalism in the 1980s to be used to draw the Soviet Union into Afghanistan, and bleed it to death in a costly and unwinnable war. #6. Robin Cook, who served as a British MP for 22 years and as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001, wrote an article for the Guardian in July 2005, a month before his death, called “The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means.” #7. A BBC article from July 2004 called “Al-Qaeda’s origins and links” reveals that Osama Bin Laden was a CIA agent in the 1980s. #8. J. Michael Springmann, a 20 year foreign service official, and a former Consulate officer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has publicly stated for many years that the CIA brought over Muslim radicals to the United States for secret terrorist training. #9. Germany’s Der Spiegel’s published an article by Siegesmund von Ilsemann called “Arming the Middle East: The Checkered History of American Weapons Deals” in June 2007. The article backed up the reporting done by the BBC, and elsewhere that the United States government “supplied Afghan freedom fighters in the 1980s with money and arms for their struggle against occupying Soviet troops. One of the best customers for the CIA back then was Saudi millionaire Osama Bin Laden.” This account is only half-true. The CIA funded and trained a network of Muslim fighters not to liberate Afghanistan from corrupt Soviet influence, but to create havoc and instigate a Soviet invasion so that it would drain itself of blood and treasure. Once the objective of bringing down the Soviet Union was achieved, the stage was set for the United States and the West to invade Afghanistan and take advantage of the country’s vast resources, from oil to heroin. #10. Selig Harrison, a current member of the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, a former senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and an expert on South Asia, said in March 2001 at a conference called “Terrorism and Regional Security: Managing the Challenges in Asia,” that the CIA and Pakistan’s ISI helped create the backward and tyrannical Taliban. #11. The September 11, 2001 attacks, which serve as the basis for America’s wars in the Middle East, were committed by the United States government with assistance from the government of Israel. This is an indisputable fact added by: maasanova

Thomas Lippolis Sues JWoww For Back Royalties

JWoww used to date Thomas “Tom” Lippolis. There were references made to him on Jersey Shore on more than one occasion. Then they broke up. Lippolis, who says he also served as JWoww’s manager, is looking for some money from the deals he says he helped get her – including with MTV. JWoww’s ex claims he helped the Jersey Shore star score a deal worth $17,500 an episode, although she never paid him a cent for his services. Tom Lippolis says JWoww owes him serious coin . Tom claims that while he was the business manager of JWoww (Jenni Farley), he locked down deals with MTV, clubs, a tanning company and a plastic surgeon. In the lawsuit, Lippolis claims he was the “sole negotiating agent” with JWoww’s Jersey Shore deal and more, but she left him out to dry after they broke up . Now, he wants $350,000 to make it right. A JWoww source says Tom did negotiate her tanning or MTV contracts , but says he was paid for services rendered.

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Thomas Lippolis Sues JWoww For Back Royalties

Everyone Welcome Back Manohla Dargis!

After a nearly two-and-a-half month hiatus, the gifted and beloved NY Times critic Manohla Dargis returns today with a pair of reviews, including a steadfastly tolerant glimpse at Joaquin Phoenix’s otherwise intolerable I’m Still Here : “Much of the movie involves Mr. Phoenix’s having, or more likely pantomiming, a meltdown, for which he puts on a really good show,” she notes, describing the star’s rejection of celebrity and rebirth as a rapper. “But the programmatic nature of his antics strongly suggests that he is self-consciously playing a role in a narrative, one that isn’t simply about him.” This calls for a toast! Coffee mugs up… [ NYT ]

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Everyone Welcome Back Manohla Dargis!

Sarah’s Key, Casino Jack Get Picked Up at TIFF

Let the deals begin ! At the Toronto International Film Festival, The Weinstein Company has just purchased the U.S. distribution rights for Sarah’s Key , a decades-spanning Holocaust drama based on the best-seller by Tatiana De Rosnay. Meanwhile, ATO Pictures announced that they’ll be distributing Casino Jack , the George Hickenlooper film starring Kevin Spacey as disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Look for that one to hit theaters in December. [ Deadline , MCN ]

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Sarah’s Key, Casino Jack Get Picked Up at TIFF

Jay-Z Talks Married Life, Def Jam Presidency In Rolling Stone

He also opens up about his love for indie rock and his one visit to a therapist. By Jayson Rodriguez Jay-Z on the cover of “Rolling Stone” Photo: Wenner Media Jay-Z is a rapper, a businessman and a husband. We’ve seen him tear up stages as an MC, and his deals have made headlines — but as Mr. Beyonc

Jenna Jameson, Tito Ortiz Both Recant Allegations

After a bitter exchange of allegations that spanned the better part of a week, are UFC star Tito Ortiz and porn queen Jenna Jameson ready to call a truce? Both seem to want the matter to die down and are withdrawing allegations resulting in, and from, Tito’s felony domestic violence arrest earlier this week. Jenna said Tito Ortiz assaulted her during an argument. She now says: “What actually happened that morning has now been dramatically distorted and misinterpreted and remarks that both Tito and I made after the police arrived reflect the state of shock that we were both in.” Translation: He didn’t do it. What happened between Tito and Jenna? We may never know . Tito insinuated that Jenna is an OxyContin addict who relapsed and hurt herself that day. But now the fighter’s position is dramatically different as well. He claims he found two OxyContin pills in a pair of her pants pocket and may have jumped to conclusions, as Jenna says the pills were very old. Tito’s lawyer, Chip Matthews, now says the whole thing was “a big misunderstanding.” Jenna passed a drug test a day after the incident. Why the change of heart? Tito stands to lose $15 million – his UFC contract plus other deals he’s a part of – if he’s prosecuted for domestic violence. Makes sense that they want this drama to disappear ASAP. It’s obviously less consequential if the case goes away, but whose story did you believe?

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Jenna Jameson, Tito Ortiz Both Recant Allegations

The Deadly Curse of AOL [Deals]

AOL just sold ICQ for at least $100 million less than it paid, cementing the brand’s infamous association with the absolute worst deals in internet history. To cut a deal with the internet conglomerate is to invite epic disaster. More

What’s Real and What’s Imagined in NYT’s Stunning Product-Placement Survey?

On the front page of the New York Times today—for those of you still buying newspapers, it’s below the fold—an article hilariously titled “Before Hiring Actors, Filmmakers Cast Products” (online it appears with the more benign headline: “Branding Deals Come First in the Filmmaking Process”) tries to get to the bottom of all that pesky product placement appearing in movies these days. And while conspiracy theorists will be disappointed that it makes no mention of the Modern Family iPad episode , they’ll be the only ones. This thing reads like an Onion article as written by Michael Tolkin. Even the main focus, a lawyer who specializes in branding deals by the name of Jordan Yospe, feels conjured out of the deep recesses of a screenwriter’s mind. After the jump, play along and try to figure out which portions are real and which are fake. (Hint: Think real.)

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What’s Real and What’s Imagined in NYT’s Stunning Product-Placement Survey?