Oberman mentioned something curious today on Countdown

[nadinbrzezinski]

and it is telling of the power structure

Yep it is about the funeral...

During the PRIVATE service this morning both McCain and Obama attended... and at Luke's Russert insistence not only did they seat close to each other... ok, but besides the current President of GE and the person that will succeed him.

Now folks... if any of you is thinking that Mr. Redstone didn't have a wink and a nod over media with these two I am willing to sell you a bridge to nowhere in Alaska.

This little piece of data was telling... not that many folks even get it.

To me the whole funeral also showed not only how INCESTUOUS the media is, but how INCESTUOUS the whole in the beltway is... and it matters not what party anymore, but either you are one of us (the haves and have mores) or you are not.

Yes, the whole Presidential number was a middle finger to all of you... but this little factoid is quite significant

Oh and at one time we read tea leaves from the October Parade at the kremlin... well, now we should try to read those tea leaves from this...

[Captain Hilts]

1. Yes. That and Gregory's dance with Rove at the Correspondents' dinner.

Cokie Roberts going to parties at the Cheneys and not making that clear when she discusses him, etc.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. There you go

[roguevalley]

54. people always speak of the whole area being a 'little town'. I think

they are incestuous, a lot.

[babylonsister]

2. Can't just respecting the family's wishes be enough? I'm not ready to

read stuff in there that isn't. Today was the day of mourning, the past few days sucked imo.
I'm leaving it at that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. This is exactly when you read things

funerals and weddings are the best in we have into the power structure

By the way Political Scientists and Intel Officers do this all the time...

[babylonsister]

14. I don't. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Well that is why you are not in poli sci or intelligence

or in sociology

:-)

But trust me, this is exactly when those folks start a readying

I'd hate to be the poor LT in any of our friendly allies, or not so friendly allies, having to go through the gag fest of the last week trying to read them tea leaves, But I guarantee you, SOMEBODY is doing it, several somebodys

[babylonsister]

22. Please. My opinion is as valid as yours. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. This is no opinion, this is FACT, Intelligence Agencies

do exactly what I just said ALL THE TIME

And a poor LT for MI5, for example, is going through the gag fest right now... and so is a poor analyst for CESIS (Canadian service), as well as somebody in Moscow... and beijing, and even Tehran

This is what is called Standard Operating Procedure

And if this was happening in the UK, a poor CIA analyst would be doing exactly what I have described... hell it was US who invented the term readying the tea leaves for Moscow every time a Premiere DIED

So this is not an opinion, and Americans better learn how to do this about their own RULING ELITES

[kath]

36. nadine, dumb question -- what is an LT?

I've really enjoyed your threads these past few days. phrases like "light in the darkness" come to mind...

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. Lieutenant

or in the case of MI-5 Leftenant

[mitchum]

35. But there is a difference between opinion and fact...

and the OP is entirely factual about the analysis of such events

[tom_paine]

47. Better start, my dear. In Totalitarian Nations like Imperial Amerika, it's all we have.

I mean, it's not as if CNN/Warner or ABC/Disney or NBC/GE has been giving us much beyond what the average Chinese citizen gets.

Apologies if you find it distasteful; I do, too. But reality is reality, and if we want to continue understanding our nation as it transitions to an Inverted Totalitarianism, we'd all better start practicing Bushie Kremlinology.

[malaise]

50. Very good point

Funerals are even better than weddings.

[Johonny]

59. I agree

Isn't this the same dull guilt by association that was the dull topic of so many Clinton-Obama primary threads. What am I shocked Tim had strong ties to Washington politicians and media owners based on his position? Yeah mobsters show up at mob funerals, but that doesn't mean the are all working together.

[texasleo]

3. When discussing spouses, Margaret Carlson said Cindy has been trashed enough.

:eyes:

[Captain Hilts]

12. If Cindy's lookin' for 'sympathy' she'll find it between 'shit' and 'syphllis' in the dictionary. n

[TheDebbieDee]

33. I respectfully disagree with Margaret Carlson.....

I would hope that the trashing of Cindy McCain has only just begun.

She's a home-wrecking, husband-stealing, recipe-lifting crackhead,
and those are her good qualities! :)

[tom_paine]

48. So for a Toady like Carlson, none = "enough"

Naturally, she was silent about Michelle Obama, who actually and actively HAS been trashed, and it's only just begun.

But Toady Carlson knows, speaking against Bushie Memes is NOT the way to career advancement and riches.

She knows how far to go, what ines not to cross, to pretend that she isn't a Toady, yet perform that duty to the Busheis perfectly.

And she's supposed to be on "our" side. :rofl: When are people going to notice, these toadies are on no one's side but that of themselves, wealth, power, and aristocratic privilege.

[Prefer]

5. wow

the wool is pulled with only little cracks of truth glimpsing through

[AlCzervik]

7. the whole place is a bubble, i'm not sure here if anyone already doesn't realize that.

it's a big club.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. And little factoids like this help to see where people stand in the club

after all, a lot of the business of government does NOT take place in Congress, but at dinners, weddings and funerals

[tomg]

52. You are so wrong. It's wakes.

Better than funerals. Funerals you have to pretend to give a rat's ass and, pretty much, be quite.
Better than weddings. Weddings you drink and dance and eat and have to bullshit socialize.

Wakes are where the real business happens. You have to be serious and respectful. You have all of those private solemn conversations where everyone thinks you are respectfully remembering the body in the box and you are really figuring out how to run an oil line through Wahziristan or Idaho. And when you chuckle everyone thinks you are fondly remembering the time the person did something amusing, when in fact, you are chuckling over the fact that you just figured out how to bust a union.

I'm Irish Catholic. I do wakes.

on edit: I can't believe no one mentioned wakes.

[seemslikeadream]

17. I thought you'd like this

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. I can only imagine what Babs is thinking bout this

and I wonder how long until they seat this poor boy from Illinois, the power structure that is, and explain them facts of life to him. They did that to Clinton as well

[tekisui]

58. I wonder if that was part of the discussion

when he and Hillary met at DiFi's. The look on his face was one I had a hard time reading. Almost like "What the hell did I just get myself into?"

[tom_paine]

49. Gosh, I've never heard that one before! How original.

Well, duh! say I to you, chimpsr...

Already anwered this irrelevant canard in another post, so I don't have to both re-typing it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=3450703#3451016

Mind you, the post is about Timmeh, but the parts for YOU are where I addressed the idea that DU is a "bubble", a "big club", a "safe harbor".

Yes it is. So? Does that make it any less relevant than the quiet homes or taverns where similar safe harbors and clubs have gathered together like-minded people in an era of National Madness throughout history?

[Median Democrat]

9. Here is a chart depicting how interconnected the MSM is...

Diversity and independence in the media are dead. The chart should of course be updated to reflect News Corp's acquisition of the WSJ.

http://adage.com/images/random/media100tree_04.pdf

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Thanks to all those who still think we have an "independent media" this

should be required readying

I have asked critics of us critics how many corporations OWN all they read, watch et al, I usually get crickets

[Jim Sagle]

41. Seems like one or two...I know it's a few more than that.

;)

[Catherine Vincent]

11. Did any of the Clinton's attend? nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

Don't know... and I did not watch it, but you can catch the repeat

11 EST

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Don't know... and I did not watch it, but you can catch the repeat

11 EST

[movonne]

15. That's an interesting question...I had even thought about that..out

sight out of mind..

[babylonsister]

16. They were both there; I don't know about Chelsea. nt

[kath]

39. you mean "the Clintons"?

[Catherine Vincent]

55. Yes. It should have been the "Clintons"

Thanks for the correction. :)

[RNdaSilva]

46. Yes, they were there...

Luke spoke with both before they got into their limo.

[malaise]

51. Both Bill and Hillary were at the Kennedy center n/t

[BeHereNow]

19. You nailed it with "Incestuous."

There is no "left" or "right"
There is no "Dem" or "Repub"
There is only the halves and the soon to be forgotten entirely.

BHN

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. This is another let them eat cake moments

the elites tend to forget those lessons.

Remind me how well did the let them eat cake crowd did after 1789?

What about 1917?

Hell even after 1776

[Horse with no Name]

23. With peak oil at hand

Food and fuel resources are now finite.
Who do you think will survive to utilize those resources? The poor? The middle class? The wealthy?
It's winner take all...who do YOU think will win?

[BeHereNow]

30. Who do I think will win?

We have already lost.
We just don't fully comprehend it yet.
And when I say "we," I don't mean us-
I mean the majority of the masses in this country.

They are beginning to figure it out however-

They are beginning to understand how the majority of the world
has suffered under the halves for decades.

Unfortunately, it never occurred to most Americans
that they too, would be led to the slaughter.

They were too busy watching TV to read and if
by chance they did actually read something, it was
most likely People Magazine.

BHN

[ProSense]

24. I get it. It's the same point

Nader made: vote Bush because he's a known quantity. Why take a chance with Gore?

Like "The Geniuses at the Washington Post (and their BS editorial on Iraq)."

Obama, McCain, no difference. Vote McCain, they're all the same anyway.


Is that it?

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. not quite, there are differences,

the republicans openly hate you.. the democrats, some do...

But where and how people seat tell you something about a PECKING order

We are social animals after all

[ProSense]

28. So what's the

pecking order you see here:

During the PRIVATE service this morning both McCain and Obama attended... and at Luke's Russert insistence not only did they seat close to each other... ok, but besides the current President of GE and the person that will succeed him.

What's the point?

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. You do know who Mr. Redstone is?

And you believe he didn't have a nice, very soft, chatter with these two about the business?

He is the leader of a company with a larger budget than many nations.

Oh and also not only the owner of NBC\MSNBC but also the company on contract, among other things, to DoD for NUCLEAR REACTORS for the Nuclear Navy and other items for the IMC

Why do I need to even translate this? This man is actually on a higher social rung than EITHER of the two men seating besides him. Hell, not even the President has more clout than this guy has, day in and day out

[ProSense]

32. "Hell, not even the President has more clout than this guy has"

Sorry, I don't deal in fiction. Mr. Redstone might have power and clout, but I fail to see what a seating arrangement at Tim Russert's funeral has to do with anything.

What do you think happened: that they sat there and talked nuclear policy during the ceremony? Did they exchanged business cards or swapped proposals on a napkin?

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. This is the kind of fiction that intel intelligence love to deal with

it is called readying tea leaves...

And much business in DC happens OUTSIDE the official corridors of power

By the way, McCain as a member of the Armed Services Commitee, as well as Mr Obama KNOW who he is, no card needed

[Garbo 2004]

37. ? Sumner Redstone is head of Viacom (CBS), not GE/NBC. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Sorry, had my heads mixed

these two were seating by the President of GE, according to Mr. Oberman

[stillcool]

27. Norman Soloman...

is my very favorite writer when it comes to the media.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Norman_Solomon/Norman_Solomon_page.html

edit to add Steve Kangas "The Origins of the Overclass"
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-overclass.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. thanks great stuff

[earth mom]

42. Thanks for pointing this out. Though the denial here on DU is very strong.

Some people think things will actually change in '09.

I don't.

[Horse with no Name]

43. Me either.

At best, we got status quo.
At worst...we got our deepest darkest fears.

[Jim Sagle]

44. I get pessimism, but not at this intensity.

We had an unelected "president" who starts wars, throws Democrats in jail, and tortures people.

If Obama wins, he can't HELP but be better than that.

[KharmaTrain]

45. Redstone Is Viacom

They own CBS...NBC's competitor. Obama and McCain were seated next to Jack Welch, the former GE CEO who all but breast-fed Russert...claiming how he enjoyed "flipping" him into a conservative and who gained a lot from Dereg and his donations to the RNC...as well as Jeff Imelt, the current GE CEO.

A lot of what we experienced the past couple days was the self-absorbed world of the corporate media...the people who are supposed to cover the news have now become the personalities...the news itself is a mere detail that tends to get in the way more often than not. It's turning the political process into a bloodsport that can be sold and manipulated...turn democracy into a reality TV show where the "journalists" are both the stars in this show but yet never complicit in the misinformation they peddle. These are people who put friendships and appearances ahead of all else...including helping these friend launch wars for profit and then continuously lie about it.

[CC]

53. Maybe they sat them next to each

other where they did so some idiots wouldn't decide one or the other were seated in a favorable spot therefore the media was behind that one. I bet there would be idiots from both sides that would then accuse the media and NBC specifically with favoring their candidate or with favoring the other sides candidate. All at the same time. Then again there are those that can find something wrong with everything.

[Annces]

56. Interesting thread

I think it is significant about the funerals and weddings. People that want to get ahead put appearances up very high.

[spanone]

57. k&r

[UTUSN]

60. You nailed 2 things that REPELLED me about the spectacle:

1) The incestuousness of the power elite with BROKAW (who'd a thunk?!1) as its godfather was sickening. It was like the episode of "Will & Grace" where Elton JOHN was named as the godfather of the gay mafia.



2) The key word is "PRIVATE." Everything's right about family and friends gathering to share their grief and sad and happy memories WITH ONE ANOTHER. But this was a SPECTACLE, with the audience being the rest of the power elite. And the speakers were mostly preeners and attention whores, literally running to the mike and the spotlight. BARNICLE the plagiarist was particularly hurl inducing with his smugness and shamelessness. It would have been fine if they had thrown this party for themselves the way every other funeral is done.


I'll say again that it is not grave dancing NOT to wipe the slate clean just because somebody died. The criticisms are about what he DID WHILE LIVING.

& I must be the only one to be creeped out by the constant allusions to his Pied Piper routine. I'll leave it at that until the day comes that something concrete emerges.


Plus, Peter JENNINGS didn't get nearly this amount of hullabaloo.