There’s a reason that you probably haven’t heard of Vincent Bugliosi’s new book The Prosecution of George Bush for Murder which is #12 on the New York Times bestseller list right now. That reason is he’s been blacklisted from the mainstream media because they apparently find his message too risky. Since I’m a fan of free speech and an independent press, I’m going to go ahead and post information about this book because he’s a brilliant (and determined) man. Here’s info via Bugliosi’s agent PMA:

In The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder Bugliosi presents a tight legal case against President Bush as being criminally responsible for the deaths of more than 4,000 American soldiers in Iraq. In a searing indictment of the President and his administration, he sets forth the legal architecture and incontrovertible evidence to put George W. Bush on trial for murder in an American courtroom for taking this nation to war under false pretences. In his groundbreaking book, Bugliosi also has outlined a legally credible pathway to holding our highest government officials accountable for their actions while in office. The book was published on May 27, 2008, by Vanguard Press, a member of the Perseus Book Group. The mainstream media has black listed this book in the U.S. and the book became a NY Times bestseller without one single review. The feature film adaptation of the book, presently entitled MAD AS HELL (working titles), is presently being edited and we are hopeful it will be distributed in theatres October.

Here Bugliosi describes the media blackout of his book:

The New York Times headlined today with an expose of the effort by the Pentagon to spread the Bush administration’s Iraq talking points by briefing supposedly independent retired commanders for television appearances. Examination by The New York Times has found that hidden behind an appearance of objectivity, “is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance”, and that “most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air”. The NYT is featuring an in-depth multi-media presentation titled “How the Pentagon Spread Its Message” which provides audio, video and primary documents that show how the military’s talking points were disseminated.

Here’s a clip we found of General Montgomery Meigs (one of the Pentagon’s “experts”) who appeared on Meet The Press on August 28, 2005. Notice his Freudian slip while making the case that this war is going far better than what the media is portraying.

Why are people drawn to social networking communities and sites like Wikipedia? Why do we want to share information and ideas for free? And what does that mean for the way we earn a living?

These are important questions that Charles Leadbeater examines in his new book We Think which was published in March 2008 by Profile Books. The book explores the web as a platform for mass creativity and examines the potential of the latest developments of the internet. His research focuses on how user driven innovation is reshaping organizations, with users increasingly co-creating products and services. He examines what these changes will mean for our culture, the way we work and how we run our governments and businesses.

Leadbeater, who has counciled Tony Blair, written for the Financial Times, and was ranked one of the top management thinkers in the world, posted the book online in a Wiki format before printing for everyone to view, edit, and correct. As if to prove his point, 91 people wrote emails with detailed suggestions for the book and about 150 comments were posted on the site. The first three chapters of the book are available for download here. And check out this cool short animation by Tim Cowie outlining the ideas of Leadbeater’s book:

The Daily Show’s John Oliver responded last week to Fox News’ recent “documentary” about President Bush, “George W. Bush: Fighting to the Finish” (it actually exists!) with one of his own, “FOX News: The Meter is Running.” It’s an unflinching, no-holds-barred, fair and balanced look at…

It’s pretty funny. Have a look at the clip:

Part 2 after the jump…

You’ve seen them before: Those creepy ads encouraging you and me to reduce needless spending and to put money away in savings. (Personally, that “Pig” dude has been the subject of my latest night terrors.)

The “Feed the Pig” public service announcement campaign has been on the air for about a year, but with the economy at its worst and the government’s economic stimulus checks in the mail next month, it couldn’t be a better time for the Ad Council and media networks to increase the campaign’s visibility.

So, to put it simply, don’t be surprised if you start seeing way more of these ads during your favorite TV shows and web videos.

But as cheesy or just plain weird as these ads might seem, the larger campaign is actually pretty creditable and, dare I say, educational. Continue Reading…

It’s been four days since HBO debuted its critically acclaimed mini-series, John Adams, but only after watching it again last night did I notice some curious parallels to a certain Illinois senator running for President.

I’m not really going to review Sunday night’s episodes; for that, check out the New Yorker’s and New York Times’ thorough recaps and reviews.

Although it wasn’t really the talk of the town (thanks a lot, Ashley Dupré!), the series did draw about 2.5 million viewers for each of its two premier episodes, making it the best mini-series debut for HBO since 2004, according to Broadcasting & Cable.

But as one of those 2.5 million viewers, I hope I’m not the only one who felt a peculiar connection between John Adams (as portrayed in the script) and Barack Obama.

First, there’s the series tagline: “He United the States of America.” Read into it what you will, but I could just as easily see that slogan on an Obama ‘08 bumper sticker. Continue Reading…

This week 145 million pounds of ground beef were recalled after the Humane Society of the United States released an undercover video showing cows being dragged with chains across a cement floor and moved to slaughter with forklifts. However, this is not the first and will certainly not be the last video to shock the American public by revealing where their food comes from.

In this excerpt from the 2003 film “The Corporation” (which is available for free on google video), the issue of rBS or rBGH use in dairy cows is addressed. These substances were banned in Europe and Canada but dairy producers in the United States continue to subject cattle to the infection-causing drugs - the results of which are most likely in the milk you drink everyday…

Photo via psmphotography

If you’re Bill O’Reilly, now would be a pretty good time to hire a new PR guy. That, at least, was the first thought to cross my mind when I encountered this headline:”Welcome Tony Snow to the Factor Family!”

Indeed, President Bush’s former press secretary, Tony Snow, was officially hired yesterday by Bill O’Reilly’s syndicated radio show, “Radio Factor,” but not in any public relations capacity. Instead, Snow will serve as O’Reilly’s “permanent fill-in host.”

In a way, that’s even more intriguing. Where’s Bill-O going? Is he expecting to take a little hiatus, as some of his critics have been suggesting?

No, of course not; O’Reilly isn’t going anywhere. In fact, his producer, David Tabacoff, even defended O’Reilly’s suggestion of going after Michelle Obama with a lynch mob yesterday, insisting that “what Bill said was an obvious repudiation of anyone attacking Michelle Obama…As he has said more than ten times, he is giving her the benefit of the doubt.”

It’s no surprise, really, that FOX is unconcerned with O’Rielly’s recent remarks. But the timing of Snow’s hiring is almost as ironic as Keith Olberman’s use of a Bush quote (”Some Americans do not understand the effect that references to nooses and lynching can still have”) to lambaste O’Reilly for his reference to lynching.

Forget about Tribune boss Sam Zell’s mea culpa, and don’t expect him to put a muzzle on himself any time soon. The fact is, Zell himself is the Tribune Company’s most valuable asset because the outspoken billionaire knows how to sell papers. When he cussed out that photog in Florida a few weeks ago, it seemed like Zell just had no self-control. But according to Zell, those seemingly random outbursts are actually part of a well-coordinated master plan.

Every time the guy opens his mouth, there’s a media frenzy. To capitalize on it, he should just put himself on permanent public speaking duty and require his scribes to make everything he says front-page news. Papers would be flying off newsstands. Zell seems to realize this now, and he’s trying to somehow rally the company around his own outbursts — at least that’s what he suggested when he addressed his Chicago staff yesterday. A video of the entire meeting is below, and we’ve highlighted some of the more notable parts.

Sam Zell’s Talk at the Chicago Tribune from margaret on Vimeo.

Most of the meeting involved your typical corporate money stuff (bleh), until the Chicago Tribune’s Public Editor Timothy J. McNulty addressed Zell’s apparent transgressions (about 57:15 into the video). McNulty told Zell:

A number of people at the company — and especially women — have been deeply offended by some of the statements you said in other places and other venues…it’s taken so long for people — especially women — to rise in the profession, and some of them feel personally disrespected.

Continue Reading…

On his radio talk show yesterday, Bill O’Reilly took a call from one of his listeners addressing Michelle Obama’s apparent gaffe from earlier in the week (“for the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country.”) The caller, who identified herself as Maryanne, claimed to have insight into the character of Michelle Obama, saying that she is “very angry” and “militant.”

In response, O’Reilly came to Obama’s defense with this bizarre rant:

You know, I have a lot of sympathy for Michelle Obama, for Bill Clinton, for all of these people. Bill Clinton, I have sympathy for him, because they’re thrown into a hopper where everybody is waiting for them to make a mistake, so that they can just go and bludgeon them…That’s wrong. And I don’t want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there’s evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that’s how she really feels — that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever — then that’s legit….[Media Matters has the full quote and clip]

This raises a several questions: Was this — as it seems — a veiled attack on Michelle Obama, and an attempt to stir up racist sentiment in the far right? And the corollary: does this represent a new line of attack for the conservative smear machine, to try to portray Michelle Obama as a militant, anti-USA African American? And how will FOX News respond? Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman made a similar reference to Tiger Woods in a January telecast when she joked that Woods’ rivals should “lynch him in a back alley.” The Golf Channel was forced to suspend her for two weeks in response to public outrage — will O’Reilly get similar treatment?

Sure, O’Reilly was apparently defending Obama against potentially harmful rumors, but his choice of words is the only part of the exchange that will be remembered. And what if there is indeed “evidence” or “hard facts”? Then he does want to go on a lynching party?

O’Reilly b-quote photo via agitprop