createpositivechange

Tag: Clarence Thomas

  • Times concedes error with Moveon.org ad

    The New York Times is backing down – somewhat – on a controversial ad placed by the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org that infuriated conservatives.

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    Under the headline “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” the full-page ad contended that the American commander in Iraq was “constantly at war with the facts” in giving upbeat assessments of progress and refusing to acknowledge that Iraq is “mired in an unwinnable religious civil war … Today, before Congress and before the American people, General Petraeus is likely to become General Betray Us.”

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    But on Sunday, the New York Times admitted it “made a mistake” by charging MoveOn a discount rate to run the ad. Some conservative groups had criticized the Times for playing favorites with MoveOn by charging the lower price.

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    The lower rate of $64,575 is normally reserved for ads that can be placed at any time – a standby rate – but MoveOn had requested a specific date for the ad to run. The Times said it should have charged $142,083 for running the ad on that specific date, and that it would collect the difference from MoveOn.

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    Did the Times violate its own ethics rules by running the ad in the first place?

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    Yes, according to Clark Hoyt, the newspaper’s public editor. “The ad appears to fly in the face of an internal advertising acceptability policy that says: ‘We do not accept advertising that is gratuitously offensive on a personal nature,’ ” Hoyt wrote in the Times on Sunday.

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    “Steph Jespersen, the executive who approved the ad, said that, while it was ‘rough,’ he regarded it as a comment on a public official’s performance of his official duties,” Hoyt added.

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    The Times public editor wasn’t the only critic of the ad. Conservatives were outraged and flooded the Times with complaints. President Bush called the ad disgusting and Vice President Dick Cheney called it “an outrage,” and even the Democratic-controlled Senate overwhelmingly condemned the ad in a 72-25 vote.

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    But even under this assault, MoveOn.org isn’t backing down. It was still promoting the “General Betray Us” ad on its home page Monday. “We are very happy that the Times has revealed this mistake for the first time, and while we believe that the $142,083 rate is exorbitant, we will pay it,” the group said in statement.

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    On the web
    \nBetraying Its Own Best Interests – New York Times
    \nMoveon.org press release – PR Newswire

  • Send All Lawyer Jokes to Marc Andreessen

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  • Blackwater’s protective web

    Blackwater USA, the State Department’s largest private security contractor, is under siege on several fronts.

    Iraq’s state minister for national security affairs announced today that the firm would face criminal charges for the fatal shootings of Iraqi citizens. Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., is also under investigation on the home front.

    But a tight web of political and business connections helps shield the company from the most formidable of attacks.

    Erik Prince, the former Navy SEAL who founded Blackwater in 1996, is a major contributor to the GOP. Federal Election Commission records show that he has given more than $200,000 to Republican committees and candidates in the last decade.

    His sister, Betsy DeVos, is the former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and wife of Amway co-founder Dick DeVos, unsuccessful candidate for governor.

    Prince is also on the board of Christian Freedom International, a nonprofit whose aim is to help persecuted Christians around the world. Fellow board members include former Sen. Don Nickles and former Swiss ambassador Faith Whittlesey.

    The group’s president, Jim Jacobson, was a policy analyst with the Reagan White House. Its vice chairman, Paul Behrends, was a partner in the once-powerful lobbyist firm, Alexander Strategy Group, which represented Blackwater. The group closed shop in January 2006, citing unfavorable publicity from its ties to Jack Abramoff.

    Blackwater’s vice chairman, Cofer Black, is former director of counterterrorism for the CIA and also a top adviser to the Mitt Romney presidential campaign.

    Officers of Blackwater’s parent company, Prince Group, include Joseph Schmitz, former inspector general of the Defense Department and the son of a congressman. (An irrelevant but interesting connection here: Schmitz’s sister is Mary Kay LeTourneau, the former school teacher who was prosecuted and imprisoned for having sex with an underaged student. The two were married after her release in 2004.)

    Blackwater resumed guarding American diplomatic convoys in Iraq on Friday, after Iraqi officials backed away from plans to expel the company. The Iraq ministry said Blackwater guards had fired on a Baghdad square without provocation, killing 11 people.

    Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has ordered a review of security practices in the wake of the shootings. Federal prosecutors also are investigating whether company employees illegally smuggled weapons into Iraq.

    On the web:
    Iraq Probe of U.S. Security Firm Grows – Washington Post

  • Dreamworks and Paramount Headed for Splitsville

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  • Buffett Connection Leads to Major Gift

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  • Lost but linked – Relationship Map for the TV show Lost

    All is not what it seems on the island.

    MAP HINTS: Click expands a name. Control+Click centers map on a name. Solid lines are current relations. Dotted lines are former relations. For advanced tools choose Tools > Options from the menu at top. More help. Not seeing the maps? Please go here to check for the latest version of Java.

    See large version of map | See full screen version of map | Put this map on your blog

    The survivors of the crash of Ocean Flight 815 have untold connections that viewers of the hit ABC Lost glimpse in strobe-like flashbacks.

    The astute viewer (addict would be more appropriate) knows more than the characters. Jack and Claire, for example, have no idea that they’re step-siblings. Nor has Jack learned that Shannon’s father was in a car accident with Sarah, Jack’s future wife. Jack, the physician on duty, chose to save Sarah but not Shannon’s father.

    And Hurley has yet to discover that Libby gave Desmond her sailboat, or that John Lock worked for his box company.

    Sometimes, though, even these lost souls figure things out. Sawyer did tell Jack that he had a long conversation with Jack’s father shortly before his death.

    On the web
    Official Lost Web site (ABC.com)

  • Anthony Pellicano: Hollywood undercover

    The ongoing federal investigation of private eye Anthony Pellicano is revealing connections that many Hollywood celebs would prefer to keep quiet.

    More than a dozen people have been arrested, and Pellicano is in jail, awaiting trial on charges of bribery, conspiracy, racketeering and illegal wiretapping.

    Entertainment moguls and other elites have sought Pellicano’s skills over the years. His client list included former Disney chief Michael Ovitz, rock star Courtney Love and attorney Bert Fields.

    It remains to be seen whether this case will establish itself as one of Tinseltown’s great scandals. A federal judge recently postponed Pellicano’s trial until 2008.

    On the web
    In Court Files, Hollywoodís Mr. Fix-It at Work – New York Times
    The Pellicano Case – Los Angeles Times

  • Muckety this! Elizabeth Taylor to Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith

    How is Elizabeth Taylor connected to Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith?

    When it comes to entertainment Muckety, Elizabeth Taylor leaves Kevin Bacon in the dust.

    First, her connection to Paris Hilton: Paris is the daughter of Richard Hilton, granddaughter of William Barron Hilton, brother of Liz’s ex-husband Conrad Hilton Jr.

    And to Anna Nicole Smith (perhaps): Conrad Hilton Jr.’s father was married to Zsa Zsa Gabor, whose husband later claimed paternity of Anna Nicole’s baby.

  • Muckety this! Jacqueline Onassis to Gore Vidal

    What is Jackie O’s connection to Mr. Vidal?

    Hint: Click in map to explore connections

    Her mother, Janet Norton Lee, was married to Hugh D. Auchincloss, who also married Nina Gore Vidal, the author’s mother.

  • Woodie To Groucho And Other Erratic Paths

    Other than being Jewish and funny, how is Woody Allen linked to Groucho Marx?

    MAP HINTS: Click expands a name. Control+Click centers map on a name. Solid lines are current relations. Dotted lines are former relations. For advanced tools choose Tools > Options from the menu at top. More help. Not seeing the maps? Please go here to check for the latest version of Java.
    See large version of map  |  See full screen version of map  |  Put this map on your blog

    His decidedly ex, Mia Farrow, was married to Frank Sinatra, whose multiple wives included Barbara Blakely, who was married to Zeppo Marx, Groucho’s brother. As if you didn’t know!

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