If FOXNews gets bought off, I've lost all hope for mankind.

Let's hope it doesn't beome the No Spine Zone.

Oh, great. Fox already uses AP and Reuters to cover Israel - and it will probably not change that now.

Murdoch is a known whore, but Ailes is another story. Wait and see. The guy to watch is Bret Hume. He has danced to the paid tune in the past.

Oh God! I hope not! The A-rabs spend oil $ to silence the truth?

Al-Waleed is a typical Saudi hypocrite. Notwithstanding his public hate for Israel, much of his investing success has been through using Jewish advisors. He has made substantial sums thorugh investing in Citigroup (led by Sandy Weil) and was part of a consortium led by Paul Reichmann that purchased and sold Canary Wharf in London.

His main advisors are Jewish, and he enjoys the Western lifestyle when outside Saudi Arabia. It is surprising that the Mossad or CIA haven't distributed video evidence of Saudi princes hypocritical behaviour in their homeland. That would bring down the House of Fraud rather quickly.

I don't blame the Prince. Sure, it's a lot of money, but it's worth it to cover up Greta van Susteren with a burqa.

I thought the Saudis already owned part of Fox. Is this an old story?

This is serious. If fox becomes Israel unfriendly, about all there is left is part of the blogosphere, and talk radio. Time for a new network?

Don't worry Fox fans. The only significant change will be Alan Combs. Fox will "turn him out" and make him a Man-Whore for their Saudi investors. After just a short time, Combs will be fine with the new arrangement.

OT,

FLASH

Bomb in Jounieh, Lebanon (near Beirut) wounds TV journalist May Chidiac.

No report yet on her condition,

A burqua on Laurie Dhue - perish the thought.

#7 Gagdad Bob

LOL!
Now that's not nice!
LOL!

If you can't beat'em, buy 'em.

Before we get any of those mindless posts about not buying Saudi oil to prevent this kind of thing, read post #6. Current oil income means little to the players in the House of Saud, they have their investments returning all they money they need.

Sunday's New York Times has a full section advertising supplement touting Saudi Arabia...they're sure trying hard to convince us that they're not what we think.

#7 Gagdad

LOL

She's got that "Queen of the dead" thing going on also,add a muzzle to that burkha.

Aruba...Nataleee...Floating bodies...death...death...death

xlibseezlight

...they're sure trying hard to convince us that they're not what we think.

what we know.

Less than 6 % stock ownership?

Is that amount really worth all the worry ? Threatening to sell out thei shares of FOX if they ( FOX News ) investigates deep into reporting facts in the magic kingdom?

They will buy their PR while they can. So they deposit/invest their oil profits in FOX.

Good for FOX.
I hope FOX doesn't sell out to such a small minority stock holder.

5% isn't a controlling amount, though i suppose it's enough for him to screw with their stock price if he wants to. It could just be a sound investment- how has the stock been performing lately?

#16 xlibseezlight

Sunday's New York Times has a full section advertising supplement touting Saudi Arabia

Considering who reads the NYT's, they wasted their money preaching to the choir.

OT OT OT OT OT OT

F the Saudis

Bob Dylan

Play fucking loud Bob! And Robbie and The Band!

ON PBS MONDAY AND TUESDAY

[Link: slate.msn.com...]

The Last Temptation of Dylan
Watching the new documentary.
By David Yaffe
Posted Friday, Sept. 23, 2005, at 3:18 AM PT

Dylan revisited

About an hour into Bob Dylan: No Direction Home, Joan Baez—in an interview that will be edited by your PBS station—recalls an invincible young Dylan imagining what they'll be saying about him in the future: "A bunch of years from now, all these assholes are going to be writing about all this shit I write, and I don't know where the fuck it comes from and I don't know what the fuck it's about, and they're going to write about what it's about." Here we are. This documentary comes complete with a Starbucks tie-in, an Apple logo, and a celebrity director's credit. That director is Martin Scorsese, who has surely coveted access to this footage—donated by D.A. Pennebaker, Murray Lerner, and others—having already shot Dylan as the pièce de résistance to his documentary about The Band, The Last Waltz. But before you get too excited about this crossroads meeting, viewer, beware: This project was co-produced by Dylan's manager Jeff Rosen. Scorsese was brought in well after Rosen had already conducted the interviews and approved the material. What will all these assholes be saying about Dylan? In this "Martin Scorsese Picture," whatever the Dylan people want.

We'll take it gratefully, of course. No Direction Home is framed by footage from a 1966 European tour in which Dylan was hounded by the folkie furies for plugging in with the Hawks, who later became The Band. (This footage is from Pennebaker's never-released and seldom-seen Eat the Document.) As the documentary opens, we see Dylan performing the classic rock warhorse "Like a Rolling Stone." The record had already been a No. 2 single, but it was still a rock 'n' roll Rite of Spring, too raw for the purists in 1966. You know you are in the hands of an auteur and not just a random PBS hack when, midverse, just when Dylan is about to snarl more adenoidal invective to Miss Lonely, Scorsese cuts to a frigid, silent Minnesota wilderness. The scene conveys a visceral feeling of Dylan defiantly inventing himself, not out of Abe and Ethel Zimmerman's middle-class Jewish home, but out of bleak nothingness, filled only by a wafting, distant radio playing Bill Monroe's "Drifting Too Far From the Shore." Dylan, sounding like a crotchety Grandpa, recalls that the winters were "rightly cold" and that he "didn't have the clothes you have now. It was so cold, you couldn't be bad."

Young Bobby Zimmerman was bad enough, though, stealing folk records from a collector friend in the name of being "a musical expeditionary." In the documentary, we get only hints of the artful thievery that Dylan specialized in and profited from. "Blowin' in the Wind," for example, was lifted from the Negro spiritual "No More Auction Block," and Dylan's musical expeditions continue—on his most recent album, he was accused of lifting passages from an obscure Japanese novel. "Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal." T.S. Eliot said that. "Don't steal, don't lift." Bob Dylan said ...

It should be against the law for foreign entities to own our media.

gagdad bob,
now that was over the top and would never happen at Fox,
unless the money was right. lol

OT
Maj. Gen. Yisrael Ziv, the head of military operations, hinted Israel was preparing to resume assassinations of top Hamas leaders, a practice suspended after the February cease-fire. Asked whether the leaders were in danger, he said: "Let them decide for themselves."

Put this man in charge of Gitmo.

/the aclu will be sending letters to protest.

When can we get Pajamas media its own tv network?

Gotta go do Sunday things...so that was a hit and run post.

lets freakin take over the oil fields already in saudi arabia--They are enemy #2 (after iran)--sorry enough is enough with these nomad,created by the brits, camel jocks--sorry a rant!

#18
I actually tried to do that, but couldn't get the strikethough to work!

Dammit, always knew this was coming. Hope you all will like Saudi Hollywood cause thats up next.

Well, we know what this means. Soon the only source of news will be the internet...

#12 Bubbaman

A burqua on Laurie Dhue - perish the thought.

Here area a few others that better not be wearing burquas:

Alicia Acuna
Dari Alexander
E.D. Hill
Kiran Chetry
Uma Pemmaraju
Molly Henneburg
Juliet Huddy
Patty Ann Browne
Jane Skinner

I'd put these two up at the top of the burqua model list:

Greta Van Sustren
Susan Estrich

Or Dubai or Emerites Hollywood. In PARTERSHIP with..whoever wants to sell out.

The "new" face of Fox News

I heard a guest on Michael Savage's show several months ago talking about Saudi part-ownership of Fox.

Puzzlingly, Fox itself ran this story in 2002 about (I think) this same exact prince and his being a major backer of the Arab Radio & Television Corporation (ART), which was regularly airing programs praising martyrs and denouncing Jews as apes and pigs. Same guy? I think so. Both ART and Fox?

And last year, this pro-Arabist web site mused about how great it would be if a Saudi prince could "save Fox News from slipping from Rupert Murdoch’s hands."

#33 Bubbaman:

AAAHHH!

#33 Bubbaman

But you can still see her face.
That will never do!

I think this might be Angelina Jolie.

#31 fmfnavydoc

You forgot Julie Banderas, Jamie Colby, and the other new one.

BTW, Amy Kellogg definitely belongs in a Burqua too.

#35 fmfnavydoc

My apologies to CAIR for my poor job - I'm sitting in traffic and trying to PS on my laptop...

#37 Bubbaman - Agree on the above... Laurie Dhue in a burqua - that is wrong (like prison sex wrong)...funny, but wrong

Now Alan Colmes in a burqua...different story

#38 Bubbaman
You put that thing down right NOW, young man.

#36 JD

Is that her adopted kid on her shoulders? I put on my x-ray specs and swear I could see remnants of her Billy-Bob tatoo!

31,

Let's not overlook the very yummy Megyn Kendall.

And Martha MacCallum is very easy on the eyes as well.

this is not good news.

#23 Carolyn

It should be against the law for foreign entities to own our media.

It is against the law for any foreign person, government or an agent working for them to control any broadcast station. There is a limit of 25% of the stock they can own.

However, the FCC can find that foreign ownership is in the public interest and allow it. They have done this on non-broadcast licenses (like cellular systems), but not on any broadcast licenses that I know of.

Now Alan Colmes in a burqua...different story

If you're gonna put Alan in a burqa, make sure you offset the eye-holes...

/okay, that was harsh -- sorry...

#27 rang1995

lets freakin take over the oil fields already in saudi arabia

And just how do you propose to protect them? We are having a hell of a time doing that in Iraq and those fields are a LOT smaller.

Another LGF knee-jerk reaction based on appalling ignorance.

If anyone actually cared to figure out what's going on, they'd realize that Waleed's stake is in The News Corporation, the owner of Fox, and not "The Fox Corporation". News Corporation owns the NY Post, the Fox TV Channel, The Fox movie studio, The Times of London, The Sun, The Weekly Standard, the StarTV Asian satellite network, DirectTV and dozens of other properties.

The reason for the increased ownership stake and changed voting stake has to do with Rupert Murdoch needing friendly allies to maintain control of News and prevent John Malone and Liberty Media from assuming too high a voting stake. It has zero to do with Waleed wanting a say over Fox's content.

But never let the facts get in the way of a good paranoid rant!

Why isn't it better for Saudis to invest in Fox News which is more muckraking than the other networks or disgusting Al Jazeera News, which has offices in DC and other places?

Expanding Fox's type of investigators such as wonderful Eric Shawn, exposer of UN/Kofi Annan corruption, is my kind of progress in media coverage.

Plus they have the wonderful witty Liz Trotta as commentator -- still a non-burqable babe in my book.

Really, this is not a big deal … the Saudi’s may very well will drive Fox into the ground. Some other channel will fill the void. For me , I get the majority of new from the web …. I haven’t gone back to Fox since they stopped being a new channel and started being a TV magazine (the Peterson trial , Jackson trial, Aruba… etc, etc, etc ).

#47 BPP

Thank you for the facts then, BPP. Your generalizing about every one here is similarly knee-jerk by the way.

Hey, I have a buck fifty, that should be good for at least 50% of Al Jazeera stock! Fight fire with fire! Hmmm, what fun we could have with that channel! Baywatch 24/7? The Howard Stern E! show 24/7? The possibilities are endless!

#44 [Engineer]

It is against the law for any foreign person, government or an agent working for them to control any broadcast station. There is a limit of 25% of the stock they can own.

However, none of that applies to networks, AFAIK. And I don't believe that any of it applies to cable or direct satellite, either. And as time goes by, conventional broadcast will become irrelevent, and obsolete. Before too long, everything will be over the internet, and then there will be no regulatory authority at all.

You might want to pull out your copy of the movie "Network"...Paddy Chayevsky wrote this story almost thirty years ago. O'Reilly=Howard Beale?

pssst
hey Mohammid

wanna buy a stake in;

Air America ?

bwhaaa ha ha ha ha ha

If it were 51%, I would be flipping the channel, but not for under 6%.

This is the same Saudi who invested $1.5 billion in Citibank when the company was in dire straits from real estate investments in 1991. I'm sure Rupert Murdoch's stock is structured so that some stinkin' Saudi can't gain control.

#54 Airedale

No kidding, why not let Saudis sponsor PBS entirely, let it become Psycho Babble Saudi channel for US haters and parallel universers.

We need to free up tax payer dough to rebuild the South.

#49 E.T.

I wish it was that simple. A network startup requires a huge capital investment, and even if Fox declines (which it's showing no signs of doing), somebody with big bux is going to have step up to the plate. And guess who has the big bux?

I see this as less of an attempt to censor conservative news as an attempt to drive a wedge between conservatives and Israel. And you're right about network news being less important than it once was, but it's still the primary or only source of news and opinion for a significant segment of the population.

It's also significant because if they can buy into TV networks, what makes you think that they can't buy into alternative media, also?

#47 BPP

Another LGF knee-jerk reaction based on appalling ignorance.

Fox news anchors in burqas? I agree, totally knee-jerk.

You didn't read the thread before posting again...

Just chuckling thinking about Saudi's modesty & virtue police taking control of PBS's programming. No more Dance In America, opera, pop-concerts, Heather has Two Mommies, Odd Rabbits, In the Life Rainbow programming, but lots of ranting imams, public beheadings and women in burqas.

Liberals have really not considered where their pro-islamofascist positions will take them.

#41 Bubbaman
The sunglasses gave her away, imo.

Let's be clear about something. 5% isn't significant. The concern is another 5% after 6-12 months, and another 5%, and eventually the ability to call the shots a few years down the road. This may or may not ever come to pass, but it could. There's a real vulnerability, because Fox is the only TV network in the U.S. that isn't outright pro-Islamist. That's the concern, not this particular transaction in itself.

I don't think that FOX was exactly pro-Israel to begin with, anyway...

#63 Cognosus

Compared to the others?

KHAAAN!

There is something wrong with this story. I can't find a single thing to support this in the market news. A check of the stock (NWS) shows no major trade in the last year and none of the analysts talk about it.

Now, as of May 23, 2005, Murdoch and his family held 29.5% of shares outstanding. It is possible that he did a private sell.

Here's how I like my Dhue:

[Link: coldfury.com...]

#52 Earth2moonbat

However, none of that applies to networks, AFAIK. And I don't believe that any of it applies to cable or direct satellite, either. And as time goes by, conventional broadcast will become irrelevent, and obsolete. Before too long, everything will be over the internet, and then there will be no regulatory authority at all.

It applies to any corporation that holds any kind of FCC license. That includes ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. It also includes Direct TV and CNN since they have satellite uplinks.

Number 6 above commented "It is surprising that the Mossad or CIA haven't distributed video evidence of Saudi princes hypocritical behaviour in their homeland. That would bring down the House of Fraud rather quickly".

With the Bush family having their noses so tightly jammed into the nether regions of the House of Saud, do you really think this could happen.

Yeah. right.

This is bad news. I hope they buy the whole of Fox News so that the staff quits and Fox News is worth nothing.

By the way, the News Corporation stock has been going nowhere this year. + or - $2.00 around $17.00.

Earth2: You got it. Thats what the Arab World has been working on. First make your presence known and make "friends" in America, the only Country and a Super Power at that, that was solidly Pro Israel and NOT for a Palestinian State. Work in the Universities (buy them with establishing Dept's and Chairs, In Congress (well we know how that might go), In Business, sometimes with Religious Organizations, Aide Organizations, and now in Media to CHANGE THAT support. If they have to buy the PEOPLE with and endless supply of Petro Dollars or invest in business (some of which they don't even want), thats fine with them.

Its working. (slow and steady) Took a while, but like the Pals have said OUTLOUD in GT parties, "If it takes 500 years".

#68 [Engineer]

It applies to any corporation that holds any kind of FCC license. That includes ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. It also includes Direct TV and CNN since they have satellite uplinks.

1. Why do networks need FCC licenses? I thought that was only for the local stations.

2. The satellite uplink issue could be avoided by subcontracting, unless there's specific regulation to prevent it, couldn't they? Couldn't they simply split the production (which detemines the content) from the operations (which involves the satellite operations)?

Beagle

You didn't read the thread before posting again...

Oh really? What pearl of wisdom did I miss?

Lord knows I disagree with most of what gets posted here, but usually the posts aren't totally ignorant. But it is obvious that most people who have commented about this don't know the first thing about the media business, about Prince Waleed's investments, about News Corporation or indeed about corporate ownership.

My favorite paranoid rant is this one:

The concern is another 5% after 6-12 months, and another 5%, and eventually the ability to call the shots a few years down the road. This may or may not ever come to pass, but it could. There's a real vulnerability, because Fox is the only TV network in the U.S. that isn't outright pro-Islamist. That's the concern, not this particular transaction in itself.

Let's leave aside the completely unhinged, insane suggestion that the US media, aside from Fox, is "pro-Islamist". The post is simply breathtaking in its stupidity. First of all, the Murdoch family holds the lions's share of the voting stock and any suggestion that Waleed is going to buy Murdoch's shares is ridiculous. Second of all, the same "poison pill" provisions that Murdoch instituted to protect himself from John Malone could just as easily be turned on Waleed if he became hostile.

The point is that Rupert Murdoch controls News Corporation and this is about maintaining that control. That isn't going to change, barring Murdoch himself dying or a significant reversal of News's financial health. Waleed is acting as a so-called "white knight", ready to protect the interest of Murdoch against the possibility that Malone might move to buy more shares. It's got nothing to do with wanting to influence what Fox puts on the air.

72 Vickie

[engineer] knows a lot about this, and may be convincing me that this isn't a real immediate problem. However, FCC regs can be changed, and there are also new media (internet, in particular), that are beyond the reach of the FCC. I'm less concerned about this particular event in itself as I am about where this could be headed.

That's what you need to keep your eye on. And also keep your eye on any attempt to loosen FCC regs on license ownership. That would be a smoking gun that there's more to this than a simple financial investment.

BTW, after Mayor Giuliani refused to accept the $10 million check from Al-Waleed, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney wrote the prince a craven letter asking that the check be turned over to her for distribution. McKinney had no problem with moral equivalence.

49 E.T.
I haven’t gone back to Fox since they stopped being a news channel and started being a TV magazine (the Peterson trial , Jackson trial, Aruba… etc, etc, etc ).

I agree. I hardly ever watch it any more and it used to be the only TV news channel I watched, now I watch none. This 24/7 airing of the current sensational story got to be too much for me. First O'Reilly would cover it, then Hannity & dufous, then the sensationalism whore...come on! Enough already! I agree with #9 earth2moonbat, time for a new news channel. One that is really conserative, not so-so, F' "fair and balanced." Is the msm "fair and balanced?" No, we need one to counter-balance the msm.

#74 BPP
Thanks for going over that again. I understand the concept of an ownership interest.

Nooo!

So much for the only unbiased new source (other than LGF.)

Chicken Kiev #34,

That sounds like Gerald Posner

Now I understand.
Great.

The invaders are really clever and the West is just selling itself.

This isn't one of those precursors to an event like the sudden purchase of American airline stocks just prior to 9.11, I hope.

Earth2: First know that in general that the time is different in the Arab World than in the West. Any kind of issue is looked on in a much MUCH longer pd. of time. (these people have been working the world and working IN the world for MILLINIUM.) Especially the ME vs. the West Issue or the Is/Pal Issue. They have time to work on America to change the rules or to change anything they need to-- to benefit THEM. Change it by bribes and "making friends,change it by never ending Pro Arab PR and Anti Israel/JEW PR, change it from within by upping their Demographics in the US and change it by forming coalitions in the US.

If you were the Arab/Islamic Worlk trying to lessen US support for Israel what businesses do you have to have, to gain control of? What businesses MUST you get out of the hands of Jooos?

Simple. And if it takes 500 years. It wont, it will take much less.

#74 BPP

Your theory is solid, yet your post is 'simply breathtaking' in its pomposity.

Rudy in '08! (He & McCain are both soundly beating Hillary in polls despite W.'s mostly media-inflicted dismal numbers.)

#74

Your last sentence is way off-base. Fact is al-Waleed is a big-time fan of the decadent hit "The OC" and is trying to buy himself a walk-on role as well as develop "Who Wants To Marry A Hypocritical Saudi Billionaire?"

Either that or he wants to impress Jodi Foster.

47 BPP

I hate it when you're right. Of course, there is a first time for everything.

People, Prince al-Waleed ibnTalal already owned stock. He switched from nonvoting to voting to help HIS FRIEND Rupert Murdock - to protect the company from John Malone of Liberty Media, who owns 18 percent of the voting stock.

The prince is freaking super-rich, and he is a savvy businessman. This has to do with business and money - period. (IMHO)

/New Corp stock rose on the news.

Hell, judging by second-term Dubya, Talal already bought the White House and has his favorite dhimmi Baker serve dauly portions of Rice on a platter.

I found a quote that pretty much sums this up:

"We believe News Corp should remain independent under the leadership of Mr Murdoch's family. If I need to increase my stake for defensive purposes, I'm willing to do that." Prince Alwaleed said.

Source: Financial Times ([Link: news.ft.com)...] 9/8/5

There was a choice. Either support this Arabist connected family (been that way for generations)or make it clear that if they made an appearance in the Administration and put pressure on the President, the support would disappear. People made their choice. Every one knew the score. Some either didn't care or pretended what was TRUE--wasn't true. Very problematic.

I think it's a blocking move to keep Murdoch in contol.

I was under the impression Rupert Murdoch was inviting the Saudi Prince to alter his stock position to a voting position to ensure Murdoch would remain in control of his empire (the Prince supports Murdoch and the board). John Malone has upped his voting stake in News Corp to a point where Murdoch feels he threatened (Malone could gain a board seat or otherwise influence the board).

[CNN]

Alwaleed gave his backing to Murdoch last November and said he could buy more (News Corp) stock to support him in the face of a possible hostile takeover bid by Liberty Media Corp... The prince's new holding of Class B voting shares replaces the 3 percent stake in Class A non-voting shares previously held by his investment company

...Liberty Media Chairman John Malone said he would like to raise Liberty's 18 percent voting stake in Murdoch's media giant. News Corp. has extended a "poison pill" provision to block him.

See: Saudi Prince takes 5.4% of News Corp

Baker whose College Thesis was Why the US Shouldn't Support Israel or Why the World Shouldn't Allow a Israel (either way its BAD) is sitting in the WH. Rice isn't calling the shots, only happy to be "obeying" Baker, Bush Sr. et al. and waiting for the Pay Off LATER. And you wonder how come the Policies toward Israel have changed? (Religion of Peace and all that) DUH.

To further demonstrate Alwaleed's hypocrisy or perhaps ignorance, one of News Corp's partially owned subsidiaries, and possibly its most important one, is NDS.

That company, though nominally based in the UK, actually has its R & D and main manufacturing base in Jerusalem, staffed by Jews.

Without NDS, which creates the technology enabling News Corp to charge for its services, there would be no News Corp.

Anyone know how much "investment" the Saudis and Dubai's and the rest have in Horse Racing in the US? I heard theve bought up lots either by themselves or in Partnership with others. This involvement is for Trophy Value and just cause they want to. They love the horses.

94 Vickie,

"They love the horses"

Actually they may like the horses, but its the camels they really love.

#89 Cattt
I found a quote that pretty much sums this up:

"We believe News Corp should remain independent under the leadership of Mr Murdoch's family. If I need to increase my stake for defensive purposes, I'm willing to do that." Prince Alwaleed said.
___

If we are to believe this statement and the theories set forth by BPP and others about it just being business, with no other intentions...we first have to trust in the word of a muslim. I for one am not willing to do that.

Gringo

Yeah, I know. If I put on my sceptical hat, I might agree. I expected someone to say that.

However, I'm wearing my financial reality hat at the moment, and even if the prince has evil purposes, this is not a way he will be carrying them out. In other words, even if he had a nefarious motive (and I am not convinced he does), this would not do him any good.

#17--LOLOLOLOL

More specifically, I thought I heard one of those Gulf Coast Countryettes bought up alot of the Prime Horse Concerns in Kentucky. Those people down there must not be all that happy about it. But ELITES socialize, do business with, go to school with, even marry other Elites. Gotta have a gazillion dollars and NOT be Jewish to be part of the group.

97 Cattt

Not in the short run. But the way chess is won is the combination move; something that does two things even if the second thing takes a while to come to fruition. Just because this makes sense in one way doesn't mean that it also doesn't make sanse in some other way, as well.

And you all know, of course, that Al WAlid is a partner of the european media empire of Berlusconi.

And of American banks etc.

It's all to help the West of course.

Of course the muslims have never invaded any country.

Immigration (invasion)
Terrorism
Ransom on oil
Financial invasion

They can't kill the elites, they buy them.
They can kill you and me, they do.

But of course this is all paranoia.

Earth2: Absolutely.

PL: So True.

VICKIE HAVE A LOOK AT THIS FROM THE JERUSALEM POST:
GOOD NEWS !

"Washington understands Israel's response to weekend rocket attacks on Sderot and other Israeli communities in the western Negev, the new US Ambassador to Israel said Sunday."

E: How close this is to Chess, any elements like Chess or Strategies used in Chess, I don't know. But these people are used to playing "games" of ALL sorts from a long time ago.

[Link: www.fortunecity.com...]

It has been reported that the Saudi's have One TRILLION invested in the US stock market and ONE TRILLION invested in US bond market.

TWO TRILLION dollars!

What are we thinking, and we can't drill in Anwar because that would be risky, gimme a break!

102 PL

Sky reports that Hamas has stated it will cease rocket attacks on Israel. Does this mean that force works ? It seems to prove that when the leaders are directly targeted, they get the message rather quickly.

Perhaps this is a lesson to the US. If the leader of the Mahdi Army, Moktada al-Sadr were taken out, it would save many US and innocent Iraqi lives.

PL: Whoopty do. I'm so happeee that Washington "understands". Stay tuned. I'm waiting for: You people don't deserve your made up out of nothing Country. Cause it IS Made up and they DON'T DESERVE IT. NEVER have I seen a people that DONT Deserve a Separate Country.

Forgot..its a ROP and they will be "Democratic".

BARF.

TILLION?

Got so upset typed the one word wrong. Sorry

YES Vicky, 2,000,000,000,000 dollars or two tillion as you say! :p

103 Vickie

The top chess player in Seattle is a grandmaster with a rating around 2700 (that's high) named Yassir Arawan (I think I got the last name right). He's "Jordanian". Not stupid.

Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who offered Rudy Giuliani $10 million after the 9/11 attacks but tried to tie it to an anti-American statement, has bought a large piece of Fox News.

In other news, the fox has bought a controlling interest in the foxhound kennel.

Actually, if Fox goes soft on Saudi terrorism funding, it'll probably raise their status in lefty eyes. We'll be reading chin-tuggers in The American Prospect and Tikkun about how the editorial board of Fox has "grown", no doubt.

99 Earth2moonbat

I prefer to be a little less extraodinarily paranoid.

I understand how you feel and don't dismiss the possibilities. I'm just saying this is NOT a smoking gun. It's a distraction. He couldn't possibly take over News Corp with a switch to class b stock. Not happening. Not a possibility - not even a move in that direction. His move actually strenghtens Murdoch, long term.

Long term, I have hope for Prince Alwaleed, his Guliani incident (and I agreed with Mr. Guliani 100%) notwithstanding. The prince is not part of Saudi rule and has mostly kept out of politics. I suspect his comments in re the Guliani incident were PC for Saudi rulers' benefit.

The prince is one of, if not the most openly critical voices within the country of Saudi Arabia's backwardness politically and financially. He has only recently begun to be openly critical of Saudi traditionalism, has proposed election reform, has championed women's rights. He has been especially critical of the tightassed nature of the Saudis when it comes to taking risk to make strides forward in business.

He also has been outspokenly pro-American and has made large donations to American studies programs in Egypt and to the George Herbert Walker Bush Scholarship Fund.

I know what you will say - it's all a plot - it's pure lip service - he has evil designs, going foward. Yeah, maybe. Maybe ANYONE does. Maybe the POTUS does. Maybe Santa Claus does.

Sorry, but I have to have a little scepticism not only of him, but of the motives of those who think every word out of his mouth is a plot. I have hope that he may be a voice of reason - hey, it is possible.

Forgot to add: Lots of worry about who has money in American or formerly American PUBLISHING Houses and who they either are partners with or might partner with. What books will be given the back of the hand and what books will be published and backed with big PR Campaigns? What Authors, (especially new Authors) writing on which subjects will not have a chance in hell anymore-Fiction or Non Fiction? What established Authors have "the message" pretty well. Don't have to say it OUTLOUD ya know.

Earth2: Get this message OUT. These people are NOT stupid. Never have been. Forget about that nonsense.

That 2 trillion figure was published long before the recent run up in oil prices, I'd imagine they have added substantially since then!

99 Earth2moonbat

I'm not a chess expert, but finance I DO know. This is not a long-term plot. I know I'm talking to a brick wall, but it's just not in any way a useful move for the prince to switch to class B stock the way he did.

By your reasoning, actually, anything the man does could be an evil plot, long term. Your basic point of logic is to assume he has evil motives, then to impune anything he does. While he MAY have evil motives, you cannot prove it by making every premise an assumption that he does.

#112 Cattt

Fine. I don't think that it's paranoid to point out that a good business investment can also serve other strategic purposes. Also, I have said that this event, by itself, is insignificant. The question is, and this remains to be seen, is this an indicator of some sort of vulnerability in our media? Are the FCC rules adequate to protect us from a slow takover from any foriegn investor? Will there be a move in the future in the future to change the FCC rules? These are the real questions; this purchase by itself doesn't mean squat.

You can't prove anything one way or another at this point, you just need to keep an eye on it, and see whatever else develops. That's all.

Minion Alert!

I just heard from Black George Bush who'd been AWOL since he responded just before Rita came in that he was staying. He did lose power briefly but is okay and stayed with friends for a couple of days. He's home again now and is alright.

118 foreign devil

Thanks for that excellent news!

Trying to Stifle the anti-idiotarian movement by acquiring a controlling interest in Fox News is like trying to buy up all the newspapers in town to keep your friends and family from seeing your name in the Police Blotter. It won't work. If Fox went completely moonbat tomorrow, it wouldn't change the political landscape in the US one bit.

Maybe the Saudis just see it as a good investment. You know, their only income seems to come from oil. They really do need to diversify their portfolio.

/sarc

117 Earth2moonbat

I agree with the gist of your statement. I just think we should try to remember to be logical, while sceptical, and to pick our battles judiciously. I can understand why any media company-related business news is a red flag, but again, this is actually a move in the wrong direction, if he's trying to take over.

#121 Cattt

Maybe you need to clarify something. The story reports:

Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal has purchased 5.46 percent of the Fox corporation, according to Gulf Daily News, raising concern that the conservative Fox News may soften its anti-terror stance due to the views of the new shareholder.

You're describing something different; a conversion of non-voting stock to voting stock. It the story wrong? Is there no new purchase of stock?

120 mich-again

I see the sarc tag, but actually, the prince IS trying to diversify - to bring SR into the 21st century financially. He is one of the five richest people in the world, and he's the richest Muslim. He didn't get that by doing what the Saudi politicos do (e.g., hide heads in sand financially).

Forbes' bio of the prince:

This savvy global investor and nephew of the Saudi king continues to thrive on deal-making—in addition to a dash of pro-American political crusading. His fortune, anchored by a $10 billion stake in Citigroup, was lifted in part by a 116% rise in the Saudi stock market in 2004. Last year he unloaded his half of New York's Plaza Hotel and plowed the profits into buying stakes in London's Savoy Hotel and Monaco's Monte Carlo Grand. In January he helped bail out an ailing Disneyland-Paris with a $30 million cash injection. A vocal supporter of women's rights, he hired the first female airplane pilot in Saudi Arabia, a country where women still can't legally drive. Clearly pleased with his stock picking prowess, he took out ads on CNN touting his holdings. "We're telling the market all these companies are number one in their field," crows Alwaleed.

He recently announced a joint venture with HSBC as partner - they're plowing apx $200 mill into sub-Saharan African growth companies. He's a risk taker.

Obviously, having a dubious Saudi Prince take a stake in News Corp is less than ideal. Further, any poison pills or other moves that impedes the upward price of the company is undesirable. Clearly, it not a good situation. I would rather see someone like Warren Buffett take the 5.4% voting stake in News Corp.

I will say it's not clear whether the Saudi Prince actually added cash to the company (he may have just swapped nonvoting shares for voting shares).

123 Cattt

Thanks for that post. Pretty interesting stuff there. I learn something new every time I sign on to LGF.

It is official Saudi Arabian policy that no Jew set foot on Saudi terriroty. As long as this policy is in place, any dealings with that country are suspect and are bound to end badly. Example? U.S. buys Saudi oil, unwittingly helps finance Moslem terror and 9/11.

I made a comment about doing this a week or so ago on another thread but the target would have been CNN/MSNBC/NYT one of them from a major conservative with deep pockets here and not from the ME. So they say: careful what you ask for.

#118 foreign devil

That's good news.

Back ON Topic. Maybe this was the price to pay to get Fox broadcast into SA? Imagine that one.

this is no big deal. I believe in a market economy. if the Saudis buy an network and then start using it as a front for Islamist propaganda, who really thinks the network will survive very long? I don't.

#87 Cattt,

I'd like to agree with you and BPP on this one, but there's an old saying (attributed, I believe to Carl Icahn), "If you want a friend on Wall Street, get a dog.". The good Prince expects to be paid for his investment, either with money or influence - and who can really blame him for that? Given News Corp's recent performance, I can't really see where he's playing for the status quo. Now is it possible that Murdoch has some rabbit up his hat that Alwaleed knows about and we're ignorant of? It's not something I'd want to bet against. But, I wouldn't want to bet for it, either. My money says that Alwaleed either sees NWS as in play in the near term (Rupert Murdoch isn't that young) and thinks he'll be able to get a hell of a lot more than Malone is willing to pony up, or he expects News Corp to be extra fair and balanced in their treatment of the magic kingdom.

oy

122 Earth2moonbat

I think this has been covered a bit, but this was a stock conversion, done 9/6/5. He converted from News Corporation Class A to class B. As of 9/1/5 (SEC report), he owned apx 5.46 percent. He still owns that percentage, but he converted the shares to voting class. The crux of the matter is he's backing Murdoch - this was a show of support for Murdoch et al.

131 Bill Dalasio

Good analysis. What can I say - I'm the Pollyanna of the brokerage industry. :)

Buy-side Risk Management, myself. Well, in addition to the damned part-time MBA thing. (I say that, because this is my break on writing my final for the summer intensive). What can I say, I'm paid to be paranoid.

Will this soften Fox's stance on Islamic terror? Yeah, probably. Saudi money is everywhere...networks, newspapers, universities, you name it.
This is a good demonstration of one of the weaknesses of a liberal democracy.

Remember this , he tried to buy influence one time before.

#1 Steve-- "If FOXNews gets bought off, I've lost all hope for mankind."

I haven't. A Fox can be bought. Lizards cannot be bought.

#74
...My favorite paranoid rant is this one:

The concern is another 5% after 6-12 months, and another 5%, and eventually the ability to call the shots a few years down the road. This may or may not ever come to pass, but it could. There's a real vulnerability, because Fox is the only TV network in the U.S. that isn't outright pro-Islamist. That's the concern, not this particular transaction in itself...

This is exactly what he will do. If anyone believes that this will have no effect on their programming then they are sorely mistaken. Every time they think about airing an anti-muslum piece they will think about prince gumbo. Fortuneately we still have the off button.

#89..."We believe News Corp should remain independent under the leadership of Mr Murdoch's family. If I need to increase my stake for defensive purposes, I'm willing to do that." Prince Alwaleed said...

Well this shows that it was not a paranoid rant. This is what he means. If I am not happy with their more anti-israel B.S. I will continue to buy and replace anyone whom disagrees with me. Anyone who watches fox are aware of their change towards the left this last year. Now they know why. Just because he owns a small amount of shares does not mean that he only has a small influence. Witness statement above regarding News corp independent. If he was doing this as an investment, he would want anyone that could drive the price up. Seems Murdock is his new dog.

138 Acesover8ts

Seems Murdock [sic] is his new dog.

That has to be the dumbest sentence I've read in this thread. Rupert Murdoch may be many things, but he is no one's dog.

Guiliani understands, doesn't he?

..not real happy about this, no really kind`a feel dirty,but lets keep our heads.Maybe we can work together..lets not become bigots..yes we know the House of Saud..is full of problems..still we need all the alliances in this region we can muster..who knows maybe,we can help kleen up his house..(((-;..have faith folks...

Guiliani threw Arafat out of Lincoln Center in [I believe it was] 1995.

He's understood for a long time now.

140 Cato

What Giuliani doesn't understand ain't worth understanding.

/yes he is one of my heroes. God how I hope he's going to run in 2008.

Don't the saudimites own most of CNN?

Figures...

I hate the sound of those screeching harpie bitches in the morning.

If I owned Communist news network, I'd have the shrieking harpies executed just for annoying me in the morning.

So Fox News is dancing with the Devil.

Sooner or later, the Devil is going to lead.

This is extremely bad news for Fox News. It's already taken a swing to the liberal left. Fox News is obviously going to swing farther to the left, now.

Thank goodness for conservative talk radio and the internet.

#143 Cattt

There was a talk radio host here who used to talk about people with "a couple of Giulianis". If you get the insinuation...

33-Bubbaman---"On the good ship Lollipop...
tappity tap,clickety click..."

Uh oh. Fox news is going to go the way of our universities. Ick!

In all due respect: The Prince is just trying to diversity..Market Economy..blah blah blah. Well folks, thats how you lose the America you know and lose it for all time. Ill thought Id give it 50 years, but I think it will happen in less time than that. How gullible can we get? Lord!

Agendas: There can be MORE than one. Like Earth says..Multiple Agendas...immediate, mid, and long term. Islam know how to think that way. Dealing with the "West" and their plans for the West for Millennium. Now we even teach them in our own Universities. Stupid, stupid ,stupid.

I always thought Israel was just the "test case" and America was the main target. Geeze that IS what is happening.

Should have been Diversify..Having a special double attack of Dyslexia today for some reason.

I'd put these two up at the top of the burqua model list:

Greta Van Sustren
Susan Estrich

Nah, Susan needs a Darth Vader helmet. I could deal with her voice better (except for that annoying breathing thing).

The guy to watch is Bret Hume. He has danced to the paid tune in the past.

At ABC and FOX, I've only seen Brit play it straight down-the-middle.

And next up...

"The Big Story" with Chris Mathews

followed by

"Special Report" with Kieth Olberman

There should be a law against significant foreign investments in American media outlets (Sorry Rupert, you too). American media should be owned by Americans. Our media should be required by law to have no conflicts of interest of this kind.

Allowing indiscriminate foreign ownership and investment in American media is an invitation to allowing foreigners to bathe the American public in propaganda which serves foreign interests at the expense of America's well-being ands security.

If the Prince wants to make money, he won't push for any change in Fox'x coverage. It does very well compared to MSNBC & CNN, precisely because it is more center-right. He is a hypocrite though in his investments. Citibank makes a lot of money from interest, which is an Islamic No-No. Religion is one thing though. He might not like some of the "Neo-Con" views (especially since NewsCorp also owns the Weekly Standard.

I vaguely Remember Murdoch bowing to the Chinese, when Patton's (?) book came out, around the trun of the century. Also, there have been rumblings that Roger Ailes supports Hillary (bizarre-except from a ratings viewpoint, and the sick hope that things would get so bad, the clock would turn away from the fake conservatism of recent years to true conservatism).

I would have kicked that f'ing check up into this rat bastard's colon.