Mike Presky's Weblog : Category Media and journalism

July 19, 2007

Watching America.

Watching America is a really great site that translates articles about the US written in other countries. I find it to be incredibly useful. They're having a fund-raiser right now and could use some help. In any case, go check out the site to see what kinds of things people around the world are saying about Americans these days. It ain't pretty.

permalink, posted by mike on Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 04:30 PM

January 21, 2004

Sharon's bribe scandal reported, not Berluscuoni's.

On the front page of today's various news are reports that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been implicated in a bribe scandal, even though he himself has not yet been formally charged. Last week the Italian Supreme Court allowed already pressed charges against Italian Prime Minister to proceed to trial, a story that has received virtually no coverage at all. NY Times article. Guardian article.

It's a sad indication of the degree of anti-Semitism in the world press, and of the reluctance of their refusal to report on wrongdoing by one of their own. Even though Sharon himself has not yet been formally charged, while Berluscuoni actually has been. Berluscuoni is Prime Minister of one of the world's largest countries, and a major media mogul himself, but his corruption is virtually ignored, even though he's been formally charged, and his personal lawyer is already been found guilty of similar crimes. And while Berluscuoni is charged with giving bribes himself, Sharon is only being charged with receiving them. Which do you think is worse? But Sharon's troubles, like Michael Jackson's, make the front pages.

I observed in a post on this subject that if Sharon or Putin had been charged with the same crimes that Berluscuoni had it would be on the front page. Guess I was right. Seems rather strange to me. A Jew or black person charged with something gets front page coverage, while a white Christian charged with much more serious crimes is just ignored. I also noted that US Vice President Cheney is also under investigation by the French for similar crimes, but that is another story that receives no attention.

Already there are calls for Sharon's resignation, but no similar calls for Berluscuoni's. Not to mention Cheney's. Actually the real story here is not the corruption charges, since most people assume at this point that virtually all politicians are corrupt, but rather the bias and dishonesty of the world's media. Which is a real scandal. And it's just so obvious, and so blatantly anti-Semitic and racist. And they get away with it, and even the investigative journalists who normally pounce on stories like this ignore it.

permalink, posted by mike on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 at 10:10 AM

January 13, 2004

Italian prime minister to be tried on corruption charges.

The Financial Times reports that Italy's highest court has said that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is not exempt from being tried simply because he is Prime Minister, and that the trial against him on corruption charges may proceed.

Italy's highest court touched off a political storm on Tuesday when it ruled that a law which froze the corruption trial of Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister, was unconstitutional.

The court's decision was a serious blow to Mr Berlusconi, whose centre-right government passed the law last June to extricate him from his trial just before he took over the six-month Italian presidency of the European Union.

The ruling, against which the government cannot appeal, means that Mr Berlusconi's trial in Milan on charges of bribing judges to influence a corporate takeover in the 1980s is set to resume.

The accusation against Mr Berlusconi is the most serious levelled at him and his business empire since he entered politics in 1993-94. He has portrayed the case as an example of how a group of leftwing Italian judges and prosecutors are intent on ruining his reputation and bringing down his government.

In a trial connected to the same case, Cesare Previti, Mr Berlusconi's friend and former personal lawyer, was acquitted last November of one charge of bribery but sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of a separate count of corruption.

In its ruling on Tuesday, the Constitutional Court said the law that guaranteed Mr Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while he was prime minister was illegal, because it violated the principle that all citizens should be equal under the law.

What's amazing about this is not just that the Prime Minister of a major European country, and one who just finished a six month term as President of the EU, one of the world's highest offices, is facing charges, but that there's very little coverage of it in the world press, especially in the American media.

I think we all know that if President Putin of Russia or Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, for example, had been indicted and was going to trial it would be front page news in the US. To say the least. And British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing very serious and ongoing inquiries into his repeated lies about Iraq's WMDs, a story which also has received virtually no attention in the American press. Michael Jackson's trial, of course, is all over the press.

But the incredible corruption of this man is simply being ignored, at least in the American media. (The Economist has for several years running a devastating series articles on this abomination.)

The NY Times for example, not only doesn't yet report this story, at least not yet, but when I went to its international section to check I actually found an article, Financial Scandal Isn't Berlusconi's, but That Hasn't Stopped His Critics, which _defends_ him from suggestions that he was involved in the collapse of Parmalat, and suggesting that his critics are just out to get him. The suicide of Britain's Dr. Death receives a major headline though. Talk about twisted priorities.

Perhaps it's not surprising that a major paper should defend someone who has so much control over the media in his own country. Mr. Berlusconi personally owns virtually all of the Italian media. To put his position in American terms, it would be the same as if President Bush personally owned the NY Times, the LA Times, the Washington Post, all three major TV networks, CNN, and the lion's share of smaller newspapers, radio and tv stations. He's a multi-billionarie and a major figure in world economic circles. A close associate of media monopolist Robert Murdoch, for instance. His former personal lawyer is now serving five years in prison on corruption charges. And on and on. That he should be serving as Prime Minister of such a large country is beyond scandalous.

The Parmalat scandal also hasn't received much coverage here. At least not yet. But it's growing. Parmalat, you may have heard is the huge Italian-based international conglomerate (they operate in something like 140 countries) which recently experienced an Enron-level collapse. And investigations are beginning to reveal that American firms such as Morgan Stanley appear to have been heavily involved in the financial machinations which allowed it to continue for a decade or more. But the NY Times appears anxious to clear Berlusconi of any responsibility. I wonder why.

Here's the Economist's article on this story, which they do cover. The article also contains numerous links to the many other articles they've run on him. They ran an extraordinary open letter to him last July, directly accusing him of some very serious crimes, backed by an astounding 8,000 pages of documents, but unfortunately it's premium content and available to subscribers only. (I did run have a post on that at the time, which contains part of it.)

permalink, posted by mike on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 at 10:02 AM

December 30, 2003

A repressive embarrassment.

Via TomDispatch. The Toledo Blade reports on the abusive treatment the US metes out to foreign journalists who make the mistake of arriving here without a visa, which they call A repressive embarrassment.

This is getting to be a widespread problem. Security is one thing, but deliberately hassling and being rude to people simply because they are foreigners is obscene. It's not only embarrassing, it's counter-productive and serves only to increase the growing hostility to America around the world. Not to mention seriously damaging American economic interests. One journalist was just here to review and promote an American movie.

Without notification to foreign media outlets, the immigration and customs people are arresting, detaining, and deporting journalists arriving here without special visas. This is so even when they come from nations whose citizens can stay for up to 90 days without a visa if they are arriving as tourists or on business.

If that threatening form of registration is not enough, members of the press arriving without the visas, which no one told them they needed, are treated like criminals, handcuffed as they�re marched through airports, photographed, fingerprinted, and their DNA taken.

Peter Krobath, chief editor for the Austrian movie magazine Skip, was held overnight in a cold room with 45 others who arrived without the visa. The room had two open toilets, a metal bench, and a concrete bench. He was here to interview movie star Ben Affleck and see the movie Paycheck.

Thomas Sjoerup, a photographer for the Danish paper Ekstra Bladet, was deported after a few hours during which a mugshot, fingerprints, and DNA sample were taken. A French journalist said he and five others from his country were marched across the airport in handcuffs, without belts or laces.

The International Press Institute in Vienna, a media freedom group, has complained not only about Mr. Korbath�s treatment but also, and indeed more important, the fact that only foreign journalists need special visas.

The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists is about to launch a global campaign against the absurd and repressive rule that casts suspicion on working journalists who come to this country on business as valid as any other traveler�s.

A U.S. embassy official in Vienna said visas have always been required. If that requirement existed, it was more honored in its breach and ought to be rescinded.

It should not take a world media outcry to address this problem. It�s a policy that puts these United States in the ranks of Third World dictatorships.

Probably worse than so-called Third World dictatorships, since they don't usually claim to be a beacon for human rights and the rule of law the way the US does. This situation is out of hand.

permalink, posted by mike on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 at 05:14 PM

September 25, 2003

Scotsman wins best daily news site award.

Speaking of The Scotsman, they just won an award for best daily news site in the UK. For the second year running.

I just love their site. Lots of in-depth reporting and objective coverage of major issues, international and local, as well as always interesting features on various topics. Their news is also available in both RSS and Javascript feeds. Best of all, they don't appear to put older articles behind a money wall.

Their Lazy Guide to Net Culture is always fun. As is their ongoing series on Edinburgh's sex industry.

I like the Scottish perspective. They have a bit of skepticism towards London and the US that is refreshing. Sometimes it's a bit provincial, but actually that's one of the charms of the web. Along with everything else they have numerous links to various web cams around Scotland. So if you have nothing better to do, you can sit and watch Loch Ness for appearances of Nessie. I don't know of any other major news site that includes web cams with their coverage.

permalink, posted by mike on Thursday, September 25, 2003 at 12:13 PM

August 14, 2003

Free news getting scarcer.

I noticed this morning that both the Guardian and the LA Times have made certain sections of their sites subscriber only. I can't say I blame them, but it's disappointing. Especially if you want to link to articles, and have the links remain for the long-term. The LA Times has long required free registration for visitors, but now it's starting to charge. Oh well.

What I really dislike, and what I think is a bad business practice, is this increasingly common practice of just charging for separate services or sections of the paper. It's frustrating when you click a link in a free area and get a "subscribers only" message. And having to keep track of which sections are available and which aren't makes for an unpleasant browsing section.

I also think that they're still charging too much. At least more than the web will bear. They seem to think that if they just charge a little bit for certain sections people won't notice or mind, and maybe they're right. But I always get the feeling I'm being nickel and dimed to death. I'd rather pay $10 a month for a paper, $10 a year would be more realistic though, than $2 for this section, $3 for that one and so on. It's confusing and sort of scares customers away.

The part of the Times that occasioned these thoughts was their CalendarLive section. Entertainment news, that is. Somehow I think that if anything really important happened in this area that I'd have no trouble hearing about it. Do they really think people will pay to hear about this or that star's latest contract, or a movie review when there are thousands of free reviews already available?

permalink, posted by mike on Thursday, August 14, 2003 at 09:23 AM

July 31, 2003

British not always right, though.

I think generally the English-speaking press from outside the US is a bit more objective and accurate than most of the American. But not always. There's this article in the Bush Just Doesn't Get It from the Guardian, Simon Tisdall reports on the recent meeting between Bush and Sharon, and pretty much blames all of the problems on Sharon and Israel, which is very clearly biased.

permalink, posted by mike on Thursday, July 31, 2003 at 09:11 PM

June 22, 2003

NY Times' propaganda on Iranian MWDs.

The NY Times is apparently supporting the Bush administration's efforts to distract attention from its failures and lies in Iraq by creating the illusion that Iran is a danger as well. In this unsigned editorial they state conclusively that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb.

One of the central challenges of the coming decade is to stop nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of dictators and terrorists. Iran has just shown us the nature of the problem. Under the noses of international atomic inspectors, the Iranians have overcome the single biggest hurdle to building a nuclear weapon: they have developed the capacity to produce their own nuclear bomb fuel. They did so while appearing to comply with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The flaws of that treaty, and how to fix them, are now evident.

The first step is to get Iran and other potential trouble spots to accept new, more intrusive inspection arrangements of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The tighter rules, drawn up in the 1990's after the discovery of Iraq's covert nuclear program, allow the I.A.E.A. to visit all suspected nuclear sites, not just those that are officially reported. More than 65 countries have agreed to these procedures, but not Iran.

With Tehran's secret bomb fuel activities now exposed, America and the European Union are increasing their pressure on Iran to agree as well. Russia has begun to add its voice to this effort, and this is crucial. Moscow, which is helping Iran build a civilian power reactor, must make clear that it will end all nuclear cooperation until Iran allows expanded inspections.

I personally don't believe Iran to be any more of a danger than Iraq was, but you have to decide for itself. Maybe it is. Nor does this mean that I in any way support what is clearly a repressive and very unpopular religious dictatorship there. But there are many of those all over the world, and it's clear that there are only certain ones that concern the Americans, always non-Christian, non-white ones. Apparently only white folks can be trusted with them. (Yes, there's a lot of this that is racial. It's not just about oil.)

But this isn't really about nuclear weapons, of which Americans have more than anybody else. It's about building a case for invading Iran, using WMDs as an excuse. "The first step is to get Iran and other potential trouble spots to accept new, more intrusive inspection arrangements..." Notice the "the first step" part. This is propaganda, not news, subtly creating the impression that other steps will inevitably follow. And notice the "other potential trouble spots" part as well. Also propaganda, subtly creating the illusion that there is a widespread global problem that Americans, reluctant carriers of the white man's burden, have no choice but to deal with.

The reason countries all over the world are looking to build up their arsenals, including nuclear ones, is that the US and its other white allies have them, and have made it clear that they will use them if necessary to maintain their power. People are frightened, and rightly so. As far as International Atomic Energy Agency is concerned, who do you think is running it?

It has to be pointed out that the US, the UK and Russia are all clearly in violation of the non-proliferation treaty as well. Do you really think their governments would hesitate to break the rules? Do you really think the IAEA is ever going to criticize white countries, or call for inspections there? No matter how blatant the infractions. Is the US government actively working to make sure no American companies are involved in supporting this kind of activity? Of course not. "Do as we say, not as we do."

Addendum. For a non-American perspective, the Scotsman has an article, US hawks turn rhetoric on Tehran, that tracks the increasingly hawkish tone being taken.

There are still issues between Iran and the rest of the world. Iran has an obvious interest in its own national security. With non-proliferation increasingly the exception rather than the norm, why should Iran not have nuclear weapons? It is an important regional player, repeatedly surrounded by forces supporting an avowedly hostile power. US troops have encircled it on all sides - Iraq, Afghanistan, central Asia. It also has a nuclear neighbour in Pakistan and a nuclear enemy in Israel.

America��s inconsistent approach to dealing with Weapons of Mass Destruction across the world suggests Iran can develop nuclear weapons as soon as possible in order to make military intervention too risky (the North Korean model), develop nuclear weapons and become a key US ally to gain immunity from criticism (the Israeli model) or attempt to develop nuclear weapons and face military action a decade later (the Iraqi model).

permalink, posted by mike on Sunday, June 22, 2003 at 03:27 PM

June 20, 2003

Guide to journalism in the.

Guide to journalism in the blogosphere <a href="http://jdlasica.com/blog/" target="_top">Via JD Lasica's New Media Musings</a>. <a href="http://www.ojr.org/ojr/uploads/1056011147.htm" target="_top">Mark Glaser's Guide to the Blogosphere</a>. An interesting guide and map to the most prominent journalist bloggers. Note that, as he claims, this is the most "influential", certainly not the best. (Although some of the best are here, such as JD himself.) I'd have to disagree with some of the placements here. (I'm sure everyone will find something to argue with on it.) For instance, Dave Winer certainly belongs on the right side, or at least right of center. I mean, he's a Fellow at Harvard Law School, which is the very epicenter of the conservative, right-wing America, and has been since Harvard was founded during the 17th century as a center for the study of white male Christian supremacy and the training of missionaries to promote same. Like many, he enjoys mouthing liberal platitudes, but when it comes down to it, he'll support the money people, no matter how serious their crimes. You can bet on it. But I guess that's the problem with trying to categorize and define things that can't be categorized and defined. (Sorry, no link to Dave. He's got too many as it is. It's www.scripting.com, if you care.) Speaking of which, I have to challenge Google's fundamental notion that the number of links to and from a site is the best measure of its value. When you were in high school, were the most popular kids the brightest? <div STYLE="color:#555555"> <img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/link_icon_small_bw.gif" border="0" alt="permanent link image"> <a href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/2003/06/000255.html">permalink</a>, posted by mike on Friday, June 20, 2003 at 02:11 PM </div> <div style="padding:5px;background:#ccc">June 17, 2003</div> Turning the tanks on reporters. In an article for the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,977701,00.html" target="_top">Observer</a>, Philip Knightley talks about the deaths of reporters in Iraq, and how dangerous it is now to be a journalist. Especially for those who write things the US military doesn't approve of. <div class="blogquote"> The figures in Iraq tell a terrible story. Fifteen media people dead, with two missing, presumed dead. If you consider how short the campaign was, Iraq will be notorious as the most dangerous war for journalists ever. This is bad enough. But - and here we tread on delicate ground - it is a fact that the largest single group of them appear to have been killed by the US military. Brigadier General Vince Brooks, deputy director of operations, has told us the Americans do not target journalists. But some war correspondents do not believe him, and Spanish journalists have demonstrated outside the US embassy in Madrid shouting 'murderers'. I believe that the traditional relationship between the military and the media - one of restrained hostility - has broken down, and the US administration has decided its attitude to war correspondents is the same as that set out by President Bush when declaring war on terrorists: 'You're either with us or against us.' </div> A specific instance that is getting widely reported, outside the US of course, is what appears to be the deliberate attack on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, which killed a number of journalists. Spanish courts are reportedly seriously considering filing war crime charges against the American military personnel responsible. See this article, <a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF07Ak04.html" target="_top">Pressure grows over US killing of journalists</a>, in the <a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/" target="_top">Asia Times</a>, a wonderful source for all kinds of information you don't read about in the Euro-American press. <div class="blogquote"> Under the Geneva Convention, firing on media facilities is unequivocally illegal. In a court of law, be it international jurisprudence or otherwise, neither accident nor the perception of nearby threat stands as just cause or sufficient excuse for such action. Of course, American soldiers do not operate under these concerns. They are exempt from such battle-field limitations. But for the rest of the world, for which violations of UN resolutions and breaches of international law can have dire consequences, pursuing this case is important. If nothing else, honest disclosure of wrongdoing and proper procedure in accordance with law are owed to the family of the deceased. Washington would likely agree if the tank had been Iraqi, and the victims American journalists. </div> The American media seem to be ignoring this story, but the rest of the world doesn't seem to want to let it go. <div STYLE="color:#555555"> <img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/link_icon_small_bw.gif" border="0" alt="permanent link image"> <a href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/2003/06/000236.html">permalink</a>, posted by mike on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 at 12:20 PM </div> <div style="padding:5px;background:#ccc">June 08, 2003</div> Counterpunch shouldn't be trusted that much though. Like most of those on what used to be called the "progessive/left", the folks at <a href="http://www.counterpunch.com" target="_top">Counterpunch</a> are not successful in separating their opinions from the facts, and so anything they write or reprint should be taken with many grains of salt. They repeatedly condemn the right-wing press for their lack of objectivity and of promoting their own agenda, but they do the exact same. And this is one of the major reasons for the weakness of the "left." Witness, for example, this <a href="http://www.counterpunch.com/baroud06062003.html" target="_top">piece</a> by Ramzy Baroud accusing the Sharon and the rest of the Israelis of never really wanting peace at all It's incredibly biased, and doesn't come close to qualifying as a piece of objective journalism. Just Israeli-bashing, at least as far as I can see. You'd almost think the Palestinians were just peaceful people minding their own business, when the Israelis decided for no reason to get up one day and attack them. Like I said before, I'm Jewish, just so you know my personal biases. I don't think all of the Israelis are good and I don't think all of the Palestinians are bad. But the historical facts of who started this war are indisputable. As is the fact that this was a full-on war, and that the Israelis won it. (I use the past tense because it's over and it's time the Palestinians admit defeat. They're only hurting themselves.) A minority opinion I know, but there you are. <div STYLE="color:#555555"> <img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/link_icon_small_bw.gif" border="0" alt="permanent link image"> <a href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/2003/06/000165.html">permalink</a>, posted by mike on Sunday, June 8, 2003 at 02:10 PM </div> <div style="padding:5px;background:#ccc">May 31, 2003</div> Why I link to the Guardian so much. As you may have noticed, I link a lot to stories from the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk" target="_top">Guardian</a> and <a href="http://www.observer.co.uk" target="_top">Observer</a> family of newspapers in the UK. I do so because I think they're good newspapers, it's increasingly difficult to get accurate and objective reporting from the so-called American media, they don't require registration, and, most importantly, and they don't hide their stories behind a "pay wall", at least at the moment, and so the links should remain valid. I also like the <a href="http://www.scotsman.com" target="_top">The Scotsman</a> for the same reasons. All of these sites are quite large and I always find something of interest. This does not mean that I don't link to sites, such as the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com" target="_top">NY Times</a>, the <a href="http://www.latimes.com" target="_top">LA Times</a> and the <a href="http://www.moscowtimes.ru" target="_top">Moscow Times</a> that do hide their stuff or require registration. For one thing, it's always hard to tell what their policies are, especially since they seem to be constantly changing. For another, if the article is important, I feel it should be pointed out. And at least I can quote the most important part. I'm still feeling my way in this blogging thing. Hopefully I'll start commenting more and quoting less. But with the sad state of the American media these days I think it's imporant to get as much news out as possible, so I don't feel too bad about quoting. <div STYLE="color:#555555"> <img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/link_icon_small_bw.gif" border="0" alt="permanent link image"> <a href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/2003/05/000126.html">permalink</a>, posted by mike on Saturday, May 31, 2003 at 09:03 AM </div> <div style="padding:5px;background:#ccc">May 30, 2003</div> Ted Turner says new media rules would have kept him from founding CNN. Via <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/" target="_top">Common Dreams</a>. In an article <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0530-08.htm" target=_top">Monopoly or Democracy?</a> highly experienced media magnate Ted Turner expresses his opposition to the FCC's new rules on media ownership. <div class="blogquote"> On Monday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to adopt dramatic rule changes that will extend the market dominance of the five media corporations that control most of what Americans read, see and hear. I am a major shareholder in the largest of those five corporations, yet -- speaking only for myself, and not for AOL Time Warner -- I oppose these rules. They will stifle debate, inhibit new ideas and shut out smaller businesses trying to compete. If these rules had been in place in 1970, it would have been virtually impossible for me to start Turner Broadcasting or, 10 years later, to launch CNN. </div> Even more amazing, he announces his intention to continue to fight this regardless of the FCC's decision. <div class="blogquote"> Our democracy needs a broader dialogue. As Justice Hugo Black wrote in a 1945 opinion: "The First Amendment rests on the assumption that the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public." Safeguarding the welfare of the public cannot be the first concern of large publicly traded media companies. Their job is to seek profits. But if the government writes the rules in a certain way, companies will seek profits in a way that serves the public interest. If, on Monday, the FCC decides to go the other way, that should not be the end of it. Powerful public groups across the political spectrum oppose these new rules and are angry about their lack of input in the process. People who can't make their voices heard in one arena often find ways to make them heard in others. Congress has the power to amend the rule changes. Members from both parties oppose the new rules. This isn't over. </div> <div STYLE="color:#555555"> <img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/link_icon_small_bw.gif" border="0" alt="permanent link image"> <a href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/2003/05/000117.html">permalink</a>, posted by mike on Friday, May 30, 2003 at 02:40 PM </div> <div style="padding:5px;background:#ccc">May 28, 2003</div> Media concentration a life and death matter. Yesterday I wrote <a href="http://www.michaelpresky.com/blog/2003_05_25_archive.htm#94968026">an entry about Howard Dean's letter to the FCC</a>. There has been much discussion recently of the problems caused by a few corporations owning all of the media. But there's one thing he says that needs to be emphasized. That is where he mentions the case of a small town which found that it was unable to broadcast emergency information to the community, because the local radio station was piped in from out of state. The implications of this are obvious. In the event of a terrorist attack, or other emergency, there would be no way to inform the people. <div STYLE="color:#555555"> <img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/link_icon_small_bw.gif" border="0" alt="permanent link image"> <a href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/2003/05/000116.html">permalink</a>, posted by mike on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 at 02:18 PM </div> <div style="padding:5px;background:#ccc">May 27, 2003</div> AOL-Time-Warner may split up. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/27/business/media/27CASE.html" target="_top">NY Times</a> reports that Stephen Case, the founder of AOL, wants his company back. Unfortunately, you can't always go back. <div class="blogquote"> Stephen M. Case, mastermind of America Online's record-breaking acquisition of Time Warner, has begun to talk favorably of undoing the deal by spinning off AOL, according to two senior company officials who have spoken with him. Mr. Case's opinions may have little effect on AOL Time Warner's future, however, because of his waning power at the company. His views may even reflect his own frustration with his changing status. ... In the latest step down from Mr. Case's peak as the chairman of AOL Time Warner, the board has quietly eliminated its strategy committee; Mr. Case and the chief executive, Richard D. Parsons, had been co-chairmen of that body. ... Now Mr. Case, one of the most successful entrepreneurs of his generation and a founding father of the online medium, is effectively excluded from the management of the business he built. </div> <div STYLE="color:#555555"> <img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/link_icon_small_bw.gif" border="0" alt="permanent link image"> <a href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/2003/05/000104.html">permalink</a>, posted by mike on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 at 09:21 AM </div> <hr> End of entries. </dIV></tD></tR>  <tr><td height="55"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="55" border="0" alt=""></td></tr> </tABLE></TD>   <td width="1" class="indents2"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="1" height="20" border="0" alt=""></td>   <TD width="33%" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tABLE width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tr><td height="40"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" 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imperialism</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/art.html">Art</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/art_boom.html">Art boom</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/asia.html">Asia</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/blogging.html">Blogging</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/bob_dylan.html">Bob Dylan</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/british_culture.html">British culture</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/california.html">California</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/canada.html">Canada</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/children.html">Children</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/climate.html">Climate</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/community.html">Community</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/computing_and_the_web.html">Computing and the web</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/drugs.html">Drugs</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/economics_and_business.html">Economics and business</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/education.html">Education</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/environment.html">Environment</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/europe_and_the_euro.html">Europe and the Euro</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/film.html">Film</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/food_and_cooking.html">Food and cooking</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/future.html">Future</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/general.html">General</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/global_issues.html">Global issues</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/health_and_medicine.html">Health and medicine</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/history.html">History</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/iraq.html">Iraq</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/israelis_and_palestinians.html">Israelis and Palestinians</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/latin_america.html">Latin America</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/law.html">Law</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/links.html">Links</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/literature.html">Literature</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/media_and_journalism.html">Media and journalism</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/middle_east.html">Middle East</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/music.html">Music</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/oregon.html">Oregon</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/painting.html">Painting</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/people.html">People</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/personal.html">Personal</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/photos.html">Photos</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/politics.html">Politics</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/religion.html">Religion</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/russia_and_eurasia.html">Russia and Eurasia</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/science.html">Science</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/space.html">Space</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/terrorism.html">Terrorism</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/tourism_and_travel.html">Tourism and travel</a> <a class="panelentry" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/categories/womens_issues.html">Women's issues</a> </div> <a name="BLOGROLL"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="10" border="0" alt="spacer"></a> <div class="paneltitle"> LINKS / BLOGROLL </div> <div class="paneltext"> THE BLOGOSPHERE Group blogs and centers <a href="http://www.ncf.ca/%7Eek867/wood_s_lot.html" target="_top">Wood s Lot</a>. Maybe the most consistently interesting weblog out there. Superb selections on all sorts of topics, especially art and literature. Tons of links too. <a href="http://blogsisters.blogspot.com/" target="_top">Blog Sisters</a>, a group blog, with a-z links to individuals. More by the ladies at <a href="http://bonni.net/blogsbywomen/" target="_top">Blogs by Women</a>. Good community blogs at <a href="http://www.boingboing.net" target="_top">Boing Boing</a>, <a href="http://www.metafilter.com" target="_top">Metafilter</a> and <a href="http://www.kuro5hin.org/" target="_top">Kuro5hin</a>. <a href="http://www.wiblog.com" target="_top">The Wibsite, wiblog.com</a>. British bloggers. <a href="http://www.fairvue.com/" target="_top">Fairvue Central</a> hosts the Bloggies, awards for best weblogs in different categories from all over the world. See the nominees for <a href="http://2001.bloggies.com/" target="_top">2001</a>, <a href="http://2002.bloggies.com/" target="_top">2002</a>, <a href="http://2003.bloggies.com/" target="_top">2003</a>, <a href="http://2004.bloggies.com/" target="_top">2004</a>, <a href="http://2005.bloggies.com/" target="_top">2005</a>, <a href="http://2006.bloggies.com/" target="_top">2006</a> (in progress). <hr> Iraqi blogs <a href="http://dailywarnews.blogspot.com/" target="_top">Today in Iraq</a>. <a href="http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com/" title="A Family in Baghdad" target="_top">A Family in Baghdad</a>. <a href="http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com" title="Riverbend" target="_top">Baghdad Burning</a>. <a href="http://healingiraq.blogspot.com" title="Healing Iraq" target="_top">Healing Iraq</a>. <a href="http://dear_raed.blogspot.com" title="Salam Pax" target="_top">Salam Pax</a>. <a href="http://geeinbaghdad.blogspot.com" title="Gaith" target="_top">G in Baghdad</a>. <a href="http://ishtartalking.blogspot.com" title="Nawar" target="_top">Ishtar talking</a>. <a href="http://messopotamian.blogspot.com" title="Alaa" target="_top">The Mesopotamian</a>. <a href="http://iraqataglance.blogspot.com" title="AYS" target="_top">Iraq at a glance</a>. <a href="http://hammorabi.blogspot.com" title="Sam" target="_top">Hammorabi</a>. <a href="http://nabilsblog.blogspot.com" title="Nabil" target="_top">Nabil's blog</a>. <a href="http://baghdadee.blogspot.com" target="_top">Baghdadee</a>. <a href="http://fayrouz.blogspot.com" target="_top">Fayrouz</a>. <a href="http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com" title="Omar, Ali, & Mohammed" target="_top">Iraq the model</a>. <a href="http://iraq-iraqis.blogspot.com" title="Firas" target="_top">Iraq and Iraqis</a>. <a href="http://roadofanation.blogspot.com" title="Sarmad Faraj" target="_top">Road of a nation</a>. <a href="http://www.ihath.com" title="Ihath" target="_top">Ihath - Losing myself</a>. <a href="http://sunofiraq.blogspot.com" title="Alaa" target="_top">Sun of Iraq</a>. <a href="http://www.back-to-iraq.com/" title="Back to Iraq" target="_top">Back to Iraq</a>. <hr> Individual blogs <a href="http://www.dead.net/RobertHunterArchive/hunterarchive.html" target="_top">Robert Hunter's journal</a>. <a href="http://world.std.com/~emg/blogger.html" target="_top">Follow Me Here</a>. <a href="http://www.caterina.net" target="_top">Caterina.net</a>. <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/users/agrumer/" target="_top">Avram's journal</a>. <a href="http://www.rebeccablood.net" target="_top">Rebecca's Pocket</a>. <a href="http://www.amptoons.com/blog/" target="_top">Alas, a Blog</a>. <a href="http://www.wannabegirl.org/" target="_top">Weblog Wannabe</a>. <a href="http://rittenhouse.blogspot.com/" target="_top">The Rittenhouse Review</a>. <a href="http://margaretcho.net/blog/" target="_top">Margaret Cho Blog</a>. <a href="http://webfeet.blogspot.com/" target="_top">The Oregon Blog</a>. <a href="http://angrybear.blogspot.com" target="_top">Angry Bear</a>. <a href="http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/" target="_top">Brad DeLong</a>. <a href="http://dohiyimir.blogspot.com/" target="_top">Dohiyi Mir</a>. <a href="http://www.atrios.blogspot.com" target="_top">Eschaton</a>. <a href="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com" target="_top">Hullabaloo</a>. <a href="http://www.nathannewman.org/log/" target="_top">Nathan Newman</a>. <a href="http://dneiwert.blogspot.com" target="_top">Orcinus</a>. <a href="http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com" target="_top">Steve Gilliard's News Blog</a>. <a href="http://www.prospect.org/current/tapped" target="_top">Tapped</a>. <a href="http://tbogg.blogspot.com" target="_top">Tbogg</a>. <hr> Blogging communities Lists of bloggers in these areas. <a href="http://koax.org/austin/index.php" target="_top">Austin, Texas</a>. <a href="http://www.beltwaybloggers.com/" target="_top">Beltway Bloggers, Washington, DC</a>. <a href="http://www.bostonblogs.com/" target="_top">Boston, Massachusetts</a>. <a href="http://www.cowtownbloggers.org/" target="_top">Calgary, Alberta, Canada</a>. <a href="http://chicago.creativecanvas.com/" target="_top">Chicago, Illinois</a>. <a href="http://www.dfwblogs.com/" target="_top">Dallas Ft. Worth, Texas</a>. <a href="http://www.iamcal.com/misc/londonbloggers/" target="_top">London, United Kingdom</a>. <a href="http://nycbloggers.com/" target="_top">New York, New York</a>. <a href="http://websandiego.org/bloggers/" target="_top">San Diego, California</a>. <a href="http://seablogs.hellbent.org/" target="_top">Seattle, Washington</a>. <a href="http://stlbloggers.com/" target="_top">St. Louis, Missouri</a>. <a href="http://www.reenhead.com/map/metroblogmap.html#" target="_top">Washington, DC</a>. <hr size="4"> GENERAL LINKS, NOT BLOGS News, magazines, reference The sites where I do my usual news browsing, and get most of my articles and links. <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/">Common Dreams</a>. <a href="http://www.refdesk.com/" target="_top">Refdesk</a>, info on absolutely everything. A comprehensive <a href="http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html" target="_top">newspaper page</a>, listed by US states and countries, and an <a href="http://www.refdesk.com/myency.html" target="_top">encyclopedia</a>. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/" target="_top">BBC News</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/" target="_top">BBCi Home</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/" target="_top">BBC Radio</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/categories/" target="_top">categories</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/topics/" target="_top">history topics</a>. The <a href="http://www.wn.com/" target="_top">World News Network, wn.com</a>, gathers news sites from all over the world, country by country. <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a>, online encyclopedia. <hr> <a href="http://www.atimes.com/" target="_top">The Asian Times</a>. <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/" target="_top">The Scotsman</a>. <a href="http://www.moscowtimes.ru/" target="_top">The Moscow Times</a>. Russian perspectives and news. The <a href="http://www.russianjournal.com/" target="_top">Russia Post</a> is a World News site with links to other Russian sites. <a href="http://www.blackcommentator.com/" target="_top">The Black Commentator</a>. <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage/" target="_top">Aljazeera Net in English</a>. <a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/" target="_top">Outlook India</a>. <hr size="4"> GENERAL INTEREST History, literature, philosophy and other subjects, mostly related to the works in the Galileo Library. <a href="http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/" target="_top">Online Clarity</a>. An I Ching community. Newsletter, readings, etc. <a href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/sbe/" target="_top">Sacred Books of the East</a>. A 19th century project of eastern literature. <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/" target="_top">Bartleby.com</a>. Great books online. <a href="http://www.bibliomania.com/" target="_top">Bibliomania</a>. Free online literature and study guides. Lots of classics and reading resources. <hr size="4"> THE ARTS <a href="http://www.vggallery.com/" target="_top">Vincent van Gogh Gallery</a>. Complete paintings and writings, and a <a href="http://www.vggallery.com/misc/links.htm" target="_top">nice arts links page</a>. <a href="http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/" target="_top">Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam</a>. <a href="http://www.bobdylan.com/" target="_top">Bob Dylan</a>, <a href="http://bobdylan.com/performances/" target="_top">live performances</a>. <a href="http://www.dead.net/" target="_top">Grateful Dead</a>, <a href="http://www.gdradio.com/" target="_top">GD Radio</a>. <a href="http://www.davidbyrne.com/" target="_top">David Byrne</a>, <a href="http://www.davidbyrne.com/radio/" target="_top">radio station</a>. <a href="http://www.newpages.com/" target="_top">New Pages</a>. Book and reading related center, lots of alternative publishing links and <a href="http://www.newpages.com/weblog/" target="_top">weblog</a>. <a href="http://terrenceberres.com/read.html" target="_top">Reading Rat</a>. Reading center with lots of links. <a href="http://P.webring.com/hub?ring=avidreader" target="_top">Avid reader web ring</a>. <a href="http://www.paris.org/Musees/Louvre/" target="_top">The Louvre</a>. <a href="http://www.paris.org/Musees/" target="_top">Other Parisian museums</a>. <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/louvre/paint/" target="_top">The Web Museum</a>, <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/louvre/paint/auth/" target="_top">index of artists</a>. Extremely high quality images. <a href="http://www.rodin-web.org/" target="_top">August Rodin web org</a>. <a href="http://www.artchive.com/" target="_top">Mark Harden's Artchive</a>. <a href="http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/index.html" target="_top">Emile Kren's Web Gallery of Art</a>. <a href="http://www.artcyclopedia.com/" target="_top">Artcyclopedia</a>. A fine art search engine. Historical and current, with a <a href="http://www.artcyclopedia.com/general/museums.html" target="_top">nice museum list</a>. <a href="http://plagiarist.com/poetry/" target="_top">Plagiarist.com poetry archive</a>. Classic and modern plus news, articles, forums, etc. View a <a href="http://plagiarist.com/poetry/?action=random" target="_top">random poem</a>. <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/" target="_top">Rotten Tomatoes</a>. Film center, with collected reviews, ratings and <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/" target="_top">forums</a>. <a href="http://aintitcool.com/" target="_top">Aint It Cool News</a>. Movie reviews and previews from a fan's perspective. <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/index/ebert.html" target="_top">Roger Ebert's film reviews</a>. <a href="http://scottmccloud.com/" target="_top">Scott McCloud</a>. The latest in the world of cartoonists. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/" target="_top">YouTube</a>. Video center. <hr size="4"> MILD EROTICA <a href="http://refer.ccbill.com/cgi-bin/clicks.cgi?CA=900004&PA=442893" target="_top">Domai.com</a>. Eolake Stobblehouse's extraordinary, and extremely tasteful, paean to pretty girls, updated daily. Nudity yes, sex definitely not. Nice <a href="http://www.domai.com/links/" target="_top">general purpose links too</a>. <a href="http://www.simplenudes.com" target="_top">Simple nudes</a>. Lots of links. <a href="http://www.vintage-nude.com/" target="_top">Vintage nudes</a>. Pin-ups and other classics. </div> <div class="paneltext" style="text-align:left">( <a style="text-transform:none" class="headerlinks" href="#TOP">page top</a> ) ( <a style="text-transform:none" class="headerlinks" href="#HELLO">column top</a> ) </div> </div></td></tr> <tr><td height="45"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="45" border="0" alt=""></td></tr> </tABLE></TD>  </tr> </TABLE>   <a name="FOOTER"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="25" border="0" alt=""> </a> <TABLE class="library" width="93%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td width="5%" class="indents1"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="20" border="0" alt=""></td> <td align="center"><tABLE width="95%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tr><td height="45"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="45" border="0" alt=""></td></tr> <tr><td align="left"><a style="font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;color:maroon;text-decoration:none;" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/" title="Weblog home page">Mike Presky's weblog</a> : <a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/index_categories.html" title="Category index page">category archive</a> : <a style="text-decoration:none;" href="#BLOGENTRIES" title="Jump to entries below">Media and journalism</a></td></tr> <tr><td height="20"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="20" border="0" alt=""></td></tr> <tr><td><hr style="color:#ccc" width="100%" size="2" noshade></td></tr> <tr><td height="20"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="20" border="0" alt=""></td></tr> <tr><td align="left"><a class="headerlinks" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/">Home</a> <a class="headerlinks" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/">Galileo Library</a> <a class="headerlinks" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/history/index.html">World History</a> <a class="headerlinks" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/links/links_home.htm">Links</a> <a class="headerlinks" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/gallery/gallery_home.htm">Art Gallery</a> <a class="headerlinks" href="http://www.galileolibrary.com/mikes/services.htm">Services</a></td></tr> <tr><td height="25"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="25" border="0" alt=""></td></tr> <FORM method="get" action="http://galileol.ipower.com/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi"> <tr><td align="left"> <input type="hidden" name="IncludeBlogs" value="2"><input type="submit" style="background-color:#dddddd;" value="Search the weblog"> <input id="search" name="search" size="15"></td></tr> </FORM> <tr><td height="30"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="30" border="0" alt=""></td></tr> <tr><td align="right">( <a style="text-transform:none" class="headerlinks" href="#TOP">page top</a> ) </td></tr> <tr><td height="35"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="35" border="0" alt=""></td></tr> </tABLE></td> <td width="5%" class="indents1"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="20" border="0" alt=""></td> </tr> </TABLE>  </CENTER> <A NAME="BOTTOM"><img src="http://www.galileolibrary.com/artpicts/dot.gif" width="10" height="25" border="0" alt=""></A> </BODY> </HTML>