NYC News Round Up Mid October 2021

MTA Ridership Bouncing Above the Halfway Line, Columbus Day Weekend Travel Numbers, Movies & Theaters Attendance Update, Demographics of Office Workers Returning to Work in NYC and CoVid Vaccination Progress NYC NYS & USA

October 12, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Weather. The temperature highs will range from the low to the high 70's throughout the week, while the temperature lows will be in the 60's all week. Winds will be 4 - 8 mph all week. Humidity will range from the mid 70% to mid 80% Tuesday and Wednesday, dropping to between the mid 60% - 70% range on Thursday and Friday. No rain is in the forecast until Saturday, so you can get the update in our Friday post.

The image at right was taken from the official website of the military health system in the U.S. It shows George Washington, who back in 1776 ordered his troops to get vaccinated against small pox, as the Continental Army was losing more men to disease than were being killed by the British. Here we are over two centuries later, and about a fifth to a quarter of the people in this nation, think they are being 'patriotic' by defying vaccination mandates - like Texas Governor Greg ButtHead and Florida Governor Ron De Stupido. We discuss where these people's confidence in their incredible ignorance comes from, below. The champion of American ignorance was born in Australia.

MTA Ridership Running at 45% - 65% of 2019 Volume

Both the subways and buses are running at near or over half their pre-pandemic ridership. While that may not be great news, it's encouraging, as we've been tracking the MTA's progress since the pandemic hit, and these numbers are about the best posted.

It's important to put things in context, and that is that NYC tourism contributes to MTA usage and it's still nowhere close to normal [like the MTA ridership numbers], and many white collar workers are still working remotely because many large Manhattan based corporate operations delayed their plans to return to the office in September 2021 - kicking the deadline to January 2022 because of the CoVid Delta variant surge.

The photo at right was taken a few weeks ago in Grand Central Station. Things have a come a long way from where they were a year ago.

I wish the non-vaxers would quit listening to the hypocritical pundits on Fox News, the NY Post & WSJ who are reportedly all - or mostly - vaccinated, including the Australian born billionaire and Goebbels-like owner himself, Rupert Murdoch. It was reported that about 90% of all Fox employees have been vaccinated, and for those who resist there's a very stringent testing regimen.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the NYC economy is coming back as more people get vaccinated, in spite of Rupert Murdoch's mass media CoVid disinformation campaign.

Phony 'Free Speechers' Trump & Murdoch's Fox 'News' Appear to Urge a Boycott of America's National Pastime

The Phony Patriotism of These Two Men Becomes Increasingly Obvious

After Assaulting the Institutions of our Democracy, Culminating in the January 6th Insurrection, they're Urging Americans to Boycott our National Pastime

This Must be a Proud Putin Pleaser

April 5, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Corona Virus / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

As you know, Georgia passed a sweeping election reform bill on March 25, 2021. It has been characterized as designed to limit voting participation of Democrats, a party in which far more women and ethnic minorities are represented, than in the Republican party. The Governor and both bodies of the legislature in Georgia are all currently dominated by Republicans.

Biden Calls the New Georgia Laws a Return to Jim Crow

President Biden called it a return to Jim Crow. Jim Crow is the name given to state and local laws passed by white southerners following the Civil War to maintain racial segregation, and white supremacy in the south.

A Summary of Most of the Salient Points of the Law

The following is mostly a paraphrasing / summary of an April 2, 2021 report in the NYT on the law. But I left a couple of things out, and added in a small bit of commentary.

The law, in a nutshell, requires photo ID's to be used in tandem with mail and absentee ballots. This includes following the instructions to a "T" or risk having your absentee or mailed vote disqualified. Election officials are not allowed to mail out absentee or mail ballot applications to anyone unless specifically requested by the voter or an authorized designee. This past year applications were mailed in an effort to encourage people to vote / participate. Drop boxes have been limited to one for every 100,000 voters. This is a significant reduction, especially in densely populated areas. According to PBS in heavily Democratic Fulton County that means the number of drops boxes falls from 38 to 8.

Mobile voting polling stations are banned. The early voting hours have been limited on the weekends to between 9 am and 5 pm but those hours may extended to between 7 am and 7 pm, if the site complies with certain guidelines. Nobody may hand out food or water to voters standing in line within 150 feet of the polling place. This is now a misdemeanor crime. Provisional ballots, which are ballots filled out at a polling site where the voter is not currently registered, is subject to restrictions that go well beyond validating the voter is eligible to cast a vote to be counted. Polling hours can only be extended for a set period of time by a judge, if problems prevent voters from casting their ballots during the regular poll site hours. This is a common occurrence in hotly contested elections. New restrictions on tabulation of results will likely delay the reporting of them, which in the past election enabled Trump & Co to spread falsehoods about the election in the absent of concrete results. The Republican dominated General Assembly will select the Chairperson of the State Election Board. The Republican dominated legislature is empowered to remove up to four county election officials. The time period for runoff elections will be significantly shortened.

Biden says it looks like Jim Crow. I'd add to that that it also smells like Jim Crow. Murdoch's Fox says Georgia's new voting laws are not racist, but Murdoch's Fox says a lot of things that are more dishonest than true - and this is no exception.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about dishonest Donald and miser Murdoch inciting another insurrection of a different sort - the boycotting of Major League Baseball for exercising the power of free speech.

The Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Cuomo

The Sheer Number of Allegations Appears to Indicate Something is Not Right

But This Report is Not About Judging Cuomo, Either Way, but Urging People to Let Due Process Play Out

March 15, 2021 / US Politics / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC. Part II.

I'm going to explore each accuser's allegations while providing a bit of background on each of them. I have found some of Cuomo's accusers more credible than others, in what I would call the integrity of the whole situation. That said, the sheer number of allegations certainly lends credence to the notion that something is not right in how Cuomo is managing his staff at the Capitol and in the Governor's mansion.

One's attractiveness to the opposite sex, can cut both ways. It can be used: 1) as a powerful tool to obtain special favors, wage increases and promotions one didn't earn, or 2) it can attract unwanted advances that feel threatening to one's person and livelihood. In the former case (#1), one's co-workers or competitors are often the victims by being passed over for promotions, travel and other opportunities. In the latter case (#2), one is a victim / target of unwanted sexual advances by virtue of their god given beauty.

While in Business School, one of my very best friends - who coincidentally was named Murdoch [but no relation to Rupert] - told me that his father had told him that

"... it was more important to be respected, than liked ..."

We both had to seriously contemplate this advice, as this friend was immensely popular. He had asked me to help him unravel what seemed his father's riddle. Ultimately In due time I concluded that my friend's father was right - it is more important to be respected than liked.

I think that is also good advice for women in the workforce, and provides a compass for how one should conduct oneself. Not every man out there is a gentleman, and oftentimes successful men are also the badly behaved men, some can even be assholes like - let's say - Donald Trump. And as we've seen over the past four year presidency, both the men and women who reported into him were certainly psychologically abused. And I won't even begin to contemplate Melania's situation.

So with that in mind, let's take a brief look at each of Cuomo's accusers and their allegations regarding the Governor.

I. Lindsey Boylan (36) - Deputy Secretary for Economic Development & Special Advisor to the Governor

Lindsay Boylan was the first woman to come forward and charge Andrew Cuomo with sexual harrassment in a tweet in December of 2020. She worked for Cuomo from 2015 - 2018 as the Governor's Deputy Secretary and Advisor, during which time she alleges she was continually harassed. Boylan is now running for Manhattan Borough President.

In the accounts of Boylan's claims I've seen published she indicated Cuomo would touch or brush against her arm or leg, compare her to an ex-girlfriend, make unwanted sexually charged statements or inquiries, and on one occasion kissed her on the lips without her permission following the award of a promotion.

Boylan first went public with her claims in December 2020, telling the world that she was speaking out now, because she felt that the public should know this, as Andrew Cuomo was up for consideration for the position of the U.S. Attorney General. This seemed reminiscent of Christine Blasey Ford stepping forth in 2018 with allegations of attempted rape by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. But attempted rape is a far more serious allegation than harassment / inappropriate workplace behavior.

At the time Boylan said she didn't want to speak to any journalists about the explosive claims. This set off my spidey sense, because it seems unfair to think that you can make such explosive, career busting allegations without expecting reporters to want to dig deeper for the full context of the story.

Cuomo denied the allegations.

Last year [2020] Boylan was beaten in the Democratic congressional primary. It would seem to be a fair question to ask whether she is angry / blames Cuomo for her loss, believing that perhaps he did not help her enough? One might also ponder whether she is she using the explosive claims of sexual harassment against Cuomo to gain publicity for her current campaign for Manhattan Borough President, while simultaniously by capitalizing on / reaching out to the #MeToo movement?

In what appeared Cuomo pushback, some of Boylan's personnel files were disclosed to the press, indicating there may have been some issues surrounding to her departure from the Cuomo Administration, regarding her management of employees working for her. Boylan says this is part of a Cuomo intimidation / smear campaign.

Boylan said she was harrassed most or many of the nearly four years she worked for Cuomo [2015 - 2018]. Like many women, she hesitated and waited until [two] years after her departure before going public.

The #MeToo movement advocates that all women's sexual harassment claims should be believed, as for centuries women's sexual harrassment claims have been discredited and ignored.

Yet not long after she went public, she threatened to start a women's PAC to torch Schumer and other New York politicians who did not come out to support her in her allegations sooner. The gap in her announcement and in Schumer and other politicians' speaking out in her favor, was about two and a half months [late Dec 2020 to early Mar 2021]. Boylan also published a threatening tweet castigating both President Biden & Vice President Kamala Harris for withholding judgment as well, before she deleted it.

Boylan's vehement 'PAC fundraising' response, caused me to stop to ponder the full nature of Boylan's nearly four relationship with Cuomo, which seems to have greatly benefitted her with promotions and travel, until it did not. I was also reminded of how Donald Trump and Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz opportunistically used 'Stop the Steal' to fundraise PAC money for themselves off of an emotional, voter 'patriotism' hot button issue.

As with Janice Dean's allegations / crusade / soft gubernatiorial campaign launch, where Shakespeare's quote in Hamlet "The lady doth protest too much me thinks" seemed to resonate, as I again found myself asking if this quote also has some relevance to Boylan's case. See prior report for full explanation regarding Janice Dean.

Boylan's allegations would be given due consideration in an investigation. And we may learn much more about hers and Cuomo's relationship ... and it's possible that it could be highly toxic to both of them.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the multiple sexual harassment allegations against Governor Cuomo including by Lindsey Boylan, candidate for Manhattan Borough President.

Media Monopoly Billionaire, Rupert Murdoch, Incites Another Mob & Pushes a VIGILANTE 'Rush to Justice' through his Propaganda Outlets

A Closer Look at Janice Dean's Vitriolic Accusations that Andrew Cuomo Mishandled the Corona Virus Pandemic in Nursing Homes & the Multiple Allegations of Harassment

March 15, 2021 / US Politics / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC. Part II.

We left off last week with Janice Dean telling us 'Our Family's Losses are Not Political' and she appears to do a soft launch of her campaign for NYS Governor in 2022 with what seems the unbridled media support aka propaganda of Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch controls Fox News, the NY Post, the Wall St Journal, Harper Collins Book Publishing and he is the largest shareholder of Disney / ABC. Allowing one person, especially this one, to control this much share of America's media is harmful to this nation because he appears to use his mass media outlets propagandistically to control who gets elected.

Why Murdoch's 21st Century Fox FCC licenses aren't legally challenged for spreading all of the distorted truths to outright lies about gender and race - is incomprehensible to me.

The NY Post graphic at right was used to try to incite and railroad Democrats to oust Cuomo in one of Murdoch's many fascist efforts to bypass rule of law and due process, to enable another of his power grabs in our governmment. I did what the editor of that poorly edited Murdoch media outlet should have done, and turned it back around to feature Murdoch in place of Cuomo.

This is Nazi style management of media and government, as oftentimes the pols Murdoch propagandistically pushes out of office wouldn't bend to his will, and those he ushers in, seem to give him whatever he wants, that they can either hide from the public or con the public into believing is good for them. This is how Goebbels and Hitler usurped the people's power in the budding German democracy in the late 1920's and early 1930's.

Rupert Murdoch & Janice Dean Want You to Believe She's Sunshine, but her Tweets & Vicious Comments Reveal the Opposite

Dean Claims She's Not Politically Motivated, while Seeming to do a 'Soft Launch' of Her Campaign 2022 for NYS Governor on 'Free' Murdoch Media Infommercials

See the report posted on March 12, 2021 for a look into Janice Dean's soft campaign launch for NYS Governor and probe into some of her possible motives for launching such vehement attacks on Andrew Cuomo. Here we pick up on more Janice Dean contradictions where the Fox News host and weather person seem guilty in some measure of doing the same things of which they're accusing Governor Cuomo.

A December 12, 2020 report in the Wrap tells us that Janice Dean tweeted the following,

" ... Nothing wrong with criticizing a politician who likes to profit off the deaths of New Yorkers. (He wrote a book too about ‘leadership’ during a pandemic) You’re right, I don’t like the governor because his policies help kill my husbands parents... "

In the Friday, March 12, 2021 report I probe the guilt that oftentimes afflicts families that place their parents [in this case it's Janice Dean's in-laws] in nursing homes, and explore some possible personal motivations for placing or shifting the blame for their deaths at the feet of Governor Cuomo. There's also a brief timeline of the events in question and less so of the nursing home reporting aftermath.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about Rupert Murdoch's Mass Media Assault on NYS Democracy and Governor Cuomo.

Weekend Update & A Different Perspective on Andrew Cuomo's Troubles

The Weather Returns to Seasonal, Daylight Savings Time Springs Ahead Sunday, People Vaccinated Growing Rapidly & Has Raging Rupert Incited Another Rioting Mob?

March 12, 2021 / US Politics / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

This past week, we experienced a few enjoyable weather days this week, with temperatures in the 60's and 70's. But alas, all good things must come to an end, so starting tonight the temperature will fall back into the 30's and we'll return to seasonal weather for the next week or so.

Weather. The temperature high will be about 70 on Friday, returning to the 50's on Saturday and Sunday. The temperature lows will fall to the mid 30's tonight and Saturday and then fall to the mid 20's on Sunday night. No rain is in the forecast and the humidity will remain low at about 30% throughout the weekend. The wind will range from 10 - 18 mph on Friday, 5 - 10 mph Saturday and rise back up to 18 mph on Sunday.

Daylight Savings Time, where you 'spring ahead' by setting your clock ahead an hour ahead, begins early Sunday morning at 2 am. At present it gets light about 6 am, so following the change it will become light out around 7 am, and currently it gets dark around 6 pm, and following the change it will then get dark around 7 pm.

The number of New Yorkers and Americans vaccinated continues to grow quickly. As of this post some 65 million Americans or about 20% of the nation has received at least one shot. New York is staying abreast with the rest of the nation, with four million New Yorkers [state] having received at least one shot, which is 20% of the state population of about 20 million. New York City has vaccinted 1.8 million people which is also about 20% of the 8.4 million New York City residents.

And the pace of vaccinations continues to accelerate, because just this past week, in New York State over a million doses were administered. President Biden wants everyone to be eligible to receive the vaccine by early May, so that come Independence Day, we can celebrate together is a post pandemic normalcy. The nation's production of vaccine continues to grow, and the vaccine distribution / administration capability which is handled at the state and municipal level, appear to be in place to handle the growing demand.

Children are not among those eligible to be vaccinated. This is because most children do not appear to become severely ill. There are tests being conducted on vaccinating younger children ages 16 - 18, as well as some kids as young as 12, and plans are being discussed regarding vaccinating children 5 - 11.

Did Raging Rupert Murdoch's Mass Media Riot Machine Incite Another Mob by Distorting & Using #MeToo?

March 12, 2021 / US Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

While watching the story of Governor Cuomo's troubles unfold, they triggered my 'spidey sense', or as it used to be called, my newsman's nose. In either case something smells rotten in NYS and as oftentimes is the case, it seems to be coming from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century & Newscorp - which includes the NY Post, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, his Harper Collins Publishing Company and possibly with an assist from Disney / ABC News where he has become the largest shareholder and where he seems to be making behind-the-scense personnel moves in the news division.

Even more than Trump, Rupert Murdoch is a trojan horse threat to our democracy. He has already turned both Australia and Britain into banana republics where he appears to change prime ministers at the drop of a hat and unfortunately most of the natives of those lands don't even seem to be aware that they're living in a mediacracy - which is a state controlled by one man's mass media holdings. Both Britain and Australia have been through at least four prime ministers within the past five years, because it seems Murdoch couldn't get exactly what he wanted on the first three tries.

Why do I think the stench is coming from Murdoch's 21st Century & Newscorp and not the Governor's mansion? Because Murdoch's gang of mendacious multi-millionaire minions too often seem not to give a damn about reporting the truth - but rather about distorting and even fictionalizing it to stoke the ratings busting fires of discontent - by attacking government officials who seem not to give Murdoch what he wants from them.

Murdoch's portfolio of wealthy teleprompter actors and actresses, seem to feign anger and outrage, in order to stoke the hyper ventillating audiences of reality contortionists Hannity, Ingraham, Pirro and Tucker into a ratings driven profit frenzy ... which the Australian born billionaire cashes in on, but also uses to brow beat those government officials who won't obey him and use our governmental apparatus to enhance Murdoch's wealth and power.

Earlier this year Murdoch's mass media appeared to help stoke the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol by feeding their audiences misinformation about the integrity of the election results and of the voting apparatus. Murdoch's mendacious minions did such a colossal job of disinforming the American public, that they are now the defendants in a $2.7 multi-BILLION dollar lawsuit filed by Smartmatic, one of the voting machine companies.

Murdoch appeared to fire Fox News host Lou Dobbs in order to pretend Fox News doesn't tolerate that sort of thing [disinforming their audience], just like they fired Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes - BUT only after years of reported sexual harassment transgressions when it became too big to ignore, and activists started boycotting Fox advertisers and the greedy 'little man' billionaire started losing money on them. Then came the "I didn't know" and yet another Murdoch inspired phony act of the most insincere contrition.

Remorseful Rupert Murdoch's quintessential phony act of contrition was performed in Britain in 2012, during the investigation into his company's [or ies'] phone hacking of ordinary British citizens for sadistic pleasure and profit. Murdoch's company reportedly hacked the phones of private citizens in order to sensationalize their personal trauma and tragedy on the front pages of Murdoch's British tabloids and TV outlets. Revealing the personal and private pain of private citizen(s) appeared to be great for Murdoch's newspaper sales, great for Rupert's TV ratings and great for rapacious Rupert Murdoch's insatiable appetite for ever more money. It was all part of his life-long, predatory power grab from the ignorant people who get their 'news' from his outlets, and make their voting decisions based on it.

So let's take a look at how the Cuomo story / stories unfolded, in search of truth - not ratings, and in search of a more behind-the-scenes account of things [also known as asking why] - not by partaking in a superficial, broadcast mass media induced, modern day virtual mob lynching, which is what appears to be happening as we speak. The virtual mob won't hang Cuomo's real life carcass like a Mussolini, but rather they will hang his reputation out to dry, based entirely on - as of yet - unsubstantiated allegations made in some cases by people who haven't even revealed themselves and to date have remained fully anonymous. The broadcast TV mass media induced mob will leave Cuomo for politically dead ... which appears exactly what the perennially angry, mean, old man - Rupert Keith Murdoch - wants. Assuming of course, that the actions and words of so many of Murdoch's apparently dishonest minions, represents his the 'Triump of the Will' or the Goebbels-like Media Fuhrer's wishes.

Step aside Atticus Finch - there's a new mindless mob in town - and it appears to be incited by the Australian born propagandist, Herr Rupert Murdoch, America's 21st century Goebbels.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about Rupert Murdoch's mass media blitzkrieg assault on Governor Cuomo using Fox News weather teleprompter reader Janice Dean to lead a media coup d'etat by hyping and sensationalizing allegations and innuendo about NYS CoVid pandemic nursing home deaths.

As Trump's Impeachment Trial Looms, It's Important to Put Things in Context ...

Trump's Russian Mobster Ties, Trump's Taj Casino Violation of Money Laundering Laws & Russian Interference in Favor of Donald Trump in the 2016 Election

Did Trump's Apparent Hedonism & Amoral Proclivity Toward Racism & Violence and Financial Mismanagement, Attract Russia to Using Him to Sow Social & Political Discord in America?

February 2, 2021 / US Politics / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

The photo at right shows the headline title and photo of a Politico story about Trump's first trip to Russia in 1987, where all expense were paid and he was a guest of the Russian government.

According to Wikipedia's report on Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election,

" ... According to the special counsel investigation's Mueller Report (officially named "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election"), the first method of Russian interference used the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Kremlin-linked troll farm, to wage "a social media campaign that favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton". The Internet Research Agency also sought to "provoke and amplify political and social discord in the United States" ..."

Mobster Don? A Russian Mobster Con? A Russian Asset?

Russia's aiding of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign was certainly successful in amplifying political and social discord in the United States.

The photo at right is from a Guardian story on January 29, 2021 about how Trump appears to have been long cultivated as a Russian asset to incite social and political unrest in the United States of America. Russia has used race and ethnicity in its efforts to stir social unrest in the U.S., as well as discredit the United States abroad, since the Cold War began in the 1950's.

And one has to wonder if Russia is still not holding the Donald's feet to the fire, as Putin is believed to operate an Assassination Bureau, using the Russian mob, through which Trump had done business with via Felix Slater. The Wikipedia report on Slater describes him as,

" ... is a Russian-American mobster, convicted felon, real estate developer and former managing director of Bayrock Group LLC, a real estate conglomerate based out of New York City. ... In 1998, Sater pleaded guilty to his involvement in a $40 million stock fraud scheme orchestrated by the Russian Mafia, and became an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ... During Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Sater worked with Michael Cohen, former attorney for The Trump Organization, to broker a deal to build a Trump Tower Moscow, asserting to Cohen that he could boost Trump's election prospects through his Russian contacts. ... On July 9, 2019, Sater appeared before the House Intelligence Committee, but repeatedly withheld testimony and documents concerning the details of a false joint defense agreement and thus remains under subpoena..."

The photo at right shows real estate developer Donald Trump with Felix Slater and one of the principals of Bayrock, a real estate development firm. Bayrock has offices in Trump Tower and Slater was convicted of stock fraud and is believed to have been a Russian mobster. The photo was taken in the first decade of 2000.

CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the Trump Impeachment Trial context including information about his Italian and Russian Mobster Ties, Money Laundering, Hedonism, Racism, Proclivity Toward Violence & possible role as an American Traitor?

Donald Trump Accomplishments / Failures

What did Trump Really do While President? Was the Slogan - Make America Great Again - Just Another Big Lie?

January 25, 2021 / US Politics / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

There’s an old saying from about a century ago, that goes something like this,

“Good government doesn’t make good headlines.”

After watching the Trump Administration, I’ve come to believe there’s an apt corollary, which goes something like this,

“Bad government makes great headlines.”

Did Bad Government Make Great Headlines & Drive Murdoch's Fox TV Ratings and Profit?

And Australian born billionaire and propagandist media mogul Rupert Murdoch - the silent hand who pulls the strings on the people and the pols on three continents - should know. Because he appears to have been profiting by exploiting that knowledge and the truth for decades.

But we’ve entered a new era since Trump won the presidency in 2016 because both men were born rich and behave as if the rules don’t apply to them. And unfortunately, they mostly don’t.

Above the Law?

Billionaires Murdoch & Trump Seem to Pummel Those Who Stand up to Them, Sharing Similarities to What Hitler & Goebbels did in Germany in the Early 1930’s, at the Dawn of the Rise of the Nazis

Trump has reportedly financially screwed numerous small contractors, employees, investors and lenders – not to mention the American people - as during his Administration the federal government took on an additional $6 trillion in debt to provide fiscal stimulus and tax breaks to billionaires like Murdoch and himself, as well as to mega millionaires like Sean Hannity of Murdoch’s Fox News propaganda outlet.

Murdoch, in a similar fashion, has publicly abused hundreds, thousands and possibly millions of people by famously hacking their phones for headlines in Britain through his Newscorp, indirectly yanking Britain out of the EU through his Brexit campaign, and indirectly sending troops from his native Australia, as well as Britain and the U.S., to Iraq - by virtue of his media influence in those nations and by cajoling his current business partner, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and one time friend, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the accomplishments of Donald J. Trump while he was president of the United States of America.

How the President, a Former NYC Mayor and Murdoch's Fox News Seemed to Incite the Capitol Insurrectionists

Rudy Giuliani, Nicknamed America's Mayor by Murdoch's Fox News, Appears to have Helped Incite the Band of Simpleminded Trumpsters to Insurrection

Updated January 11, 2021 from 1.8.21 / US Politics / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Rising Film Star [Barat2] and Former NYC Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, appears to have devolved into something of a national freak show or farce over the past five years. Perhaps longer. But in the past few months, he's become something of a national disgrace.

Fox News seems to use nicknames for their propaganda assets, like referring to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as the 'Iron Lady' and President Ronald Reagan as the 'Gipper'. Rudy Giuliani seems to be yet another Fox propaganda asset and, as such, is oftentimes referred to as America's Mayor by Fox pundits.

This is not unlike how Murdoch's Fox News nicknames themselves America's Newsroom. This was a trick used by Hitler and Goebbels, using words and images to create the illusion that they, the Nazi Party [in this cae the Fox Nation with red, white and blue colors] was the same as the state - and thus represented all that was right and just. But remember - just because Murdoch's Fox News says it's so - doesn't make it so [like they used to call themselves 'Fair & Balanced' before they started fearing a lawsuit for false advertising]. But, the Australian born billionaire's overwhelming control and / or ownership of America's television media [see our special section on Murdoch and the 21st Propaganda Press on Gotham Buzz] does give him a leg up in attaching and making both good and bad labels stick to people, places and things.

On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, Rudy Giuliani joined Donald Trump and Donny junior at a Trump rally in Washington, D.C. near the White House. The Donald had promoted this gathering as something 'wild' and related to his seemingly phony stop the steal / election fraud fundraising claims. At the rally Trump told his supporters, numbering about 5,000 [per the park permit] to march down to the Capitol and that he'd be there with them.

I think it's safe to say that the Trump supporters who came to this event came prepared to continue to be misinformed and misled by the con men standing on the stage in front of them. After the speeches the audience mindlessly did as Trump had instructed them, and began marching toward the Capitol - but without their fearful leader [bonespurs acting up again?]. The Trumps and Giuliani were not to be found when the group arrived at the Capitol. What a surprise!

When the Trumpsters reached the barricades in front of the Capitol, the police in charge of protecting it, seemed to give way. What exactly transpired at this juncture we'll find out eventually, but one thing we do know for certain is that Trump didn't deploy as many of the National Guardsmen as he did for his tear gassing photo op with the Bible last summer. So Vice President Mike Pence had to step in to call up more National Guardsmen who eventually secured the Capitol - but not until after it had been ransacked [including one report of defecation].

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on How the President, a Former NYC Mayor and Murdoch's Fox News Seemed to Incite the Capitol Insurrectionists.

You're Looking at the Real Election Fraud ... Straight in the Eyes

November 30, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Four years ago Donald Trump achieved one of his dreams and became the President of the United States. Now, four years later, we're witnesses to the Donald failing at his ultimate dream - becoming Dictator of the United States - like his buddies Kim Jong Un is in North Korea, Vladimir Putin is in Russia, and his nemesis Xi Jin Ping is in China.

But it hasn't been for lack of trying.

Trump Uses Federal Government Apparatus Like a Dictator, NOT an American President

Trump appeared to use the federal government bureaucracy in its most corrupt rendition since the birth of the republic 230 years ago - to lie, cheat and steal his way to victory.

trump tries to steal the election even though AG bill barr & DHS Krebs says it was a fair electionTrump called on Bill Barr's Department of Justice to 'investigate voter fraud' when there was none. On December 1, 2020 - a full four weeks after the election Barr finally spoke the truth - that there wasn't any widespread fraud.

Trump seemed to use Chad Wolfe's Department of Homeland Security to fund and operate campaign style food giveaways which included promotional style letters with his name on it, even though it was a federal operation using the American taxpayers' money.

He seemed on numerous occasions to try to bend Republicans in local and state government positions and the courts to go along with his fictional voter fraud claims. As of this writing 27 of the 41 lawsuits filed by Trump / Republicans were either dismissed or lost.

Trump appeared to have one of his lackeys, Louis DeJoy, gerry rig the U.S. Post Office, so the postal organization would be challenged to fulfill its role in delivering mail and absentee ballots to the Boards of Elections. This was identified in August and Congress halted it.

He seemed to use Mike Pompeo's State Department as a campaign promotional tool with part real and part fictional peace deals, as well as using the State Department as a dirt digging operation - again using taxpayers' money - to extort dirt or allegations of dirt, on rival Joe Biden. In late 2019 Trump was impeached for using the government as a campaign tool.

Trump seemed to try to use Chad Wolfe's Department of Homeland Security to foment violence in American cities this summer, so he could run as the 'law and order president'. There was an uproar in Congress about this misuse of the DHS and it was halted.

And Trump even called up the U.S. Military to provide air support for a photo op, where he held up a Bible he had never read, as a symbol of his phoniness.

See below for other enablers in the Senate and Congress, like Mitch McConnell.

• CLICK here for the rest of our story on what appears Trump's attempt to steal the election with help from Fox News propagandist Maria Bartiromo in spite of Attorney General Bill Barr's declaration that it was a fair election, which was confirmed by former DHS Chief of Cybersecurity Chris Krebs.

Was Trump's Hospital Visit a Made-for-TV Hoax?

Much Ado About Nothing Fed to American People via Corporate TV Nets

Was a Free, Live & Staged TV Program Provided by the Donald?

October 5, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / U.S. Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

The lines between 'reality TV' which seems staged reality on TV, and the real reality on TV seem to have disappeared. Occasionally I hear people complain about the authenticity of the information they get on the internet or social media - but from where I sit you can easily add the things you see on television - even network news - to the list of questionable sources.

The photo at right shows Trump saluting from the White House balcony after he was returned home from his trumped up hospital visit to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. It's unclear why he's saluting the White House lawn except for theatrics since he didn't speak.

TV News Seems Corrupted by the Ratings of the Things they Cover

The reason I say this is because the beautiful, well dressed teleprompter actors and actresses who read you your highly scripted nightly bedtime news stories, rely on teams of well paid, ratings driven writers. Most of these readers and writers are not the hard scrabble, cynical, hard nosed, been around the block, highly inquisitive journalists of what seems a bygone era of American journalism.

They may work for corporations who own and leverage the same well known, once trusted brands - but when you look under the hood of these corporations at the people who are currently running things and how they are running things - oh, my, how things have changed.

And then there's Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, NY Post and Wall St Journal which seem a well oiled, outright propaganda machine.

The same is true of American government and politics. There was a time when the halls of Washington, D.C. were filled with people who believed in some things - like representing the people who voted for them, the U.S. Constitution and the guiding Englightment era philosophy behind it all. But today, the numbers of these kinds of folks in Washington, D.C., are few and far between. Far too many of them are beholden to wealthy individuals and large corporations for the funds needed to run their campaigns every election cycle.

So why does this matter? Because we have a vapid media and a vacuous Senate and [far less so] House that seem to do whatever, for the whoever, highest bidder. And Donald Trump and his co-conspirator (?) Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch know this. And they seem to exploit these failings every day. Like this past weekend.

Why Did the Donald Appear to Stage his CoVid Hospitalization?

Last week Donald Trump had possibly one of the worst weeks ever - and even in these strange times that's VERY VERY BAD.

Last week: 1) news of the Donald's 'success' in not paying his fair share of taxes came out, 2) alongside the fact that he appears to owe $421 million in debt coming due after the election, that his current businesses aren't generating the profits required to enable payment [and to whom he owes the money remains a mystery], 3) that one of his campaign staffers / consultants - Brad Pascale - was alleged to be contemplating suicide having distributed $112 million in Trump Campaign cash to a myriad of LLC's [corruption?], 4) and the Donald turned in probably one of the worst debate performances in American History where in an hour and a half, as a sitting president, he said that he: a) wouldn't rebuke an alleged White Supremacist group - the Proud Boys - telling them to stand back and stand by, b) wouldn't agree to peacefully give up the office of the presidency of the United States unless he wins a second term and c) behaved on stage in a manner one might expect of a juvenile delinquent.

By creating a ruckus about his health, the Donald managed to bury an incredible amount of bad news, by distracting the glamorous TV dunces into focusing their coverage and the conversation about his health. And he managed to fit it fairly tightly into the weekend news cycle, so that little real campaign time was lost.

Based on the comments the Donald made coming out of his 'hospitalization' stage, it looks like he's going to use what seems a campaign staged event - to change the conversation going into the rest of the election. Change? You ask. Yes, change by using his personal hospitalization experience with CoVid to dismiss the threat of it, by telling people it's no big deal. I reckon the pitch will be something like, re-elect the Donald and CoVid will just 'disappear' ... [what they won't say is that it will disappear] from the news ...

• CLICK here as we take you through the detail as to why we think Donald Trump staged an unnecessary CoVid hospitalization in order to change the conversation from reports regarding his failure to pay taxes and what may be the most incredible presidential debate failure in history.

The Mirage of the 'Trump Economy' Part II

Australian born Billionaire, Rupert Murdoch Seems to use the Wall St Journal, NY Post & Fox News to Create the Illusion that Trump has Some Sort of Economic Magic Touch, but the Truth is $6 Trillion in New Debt & $3 Trillion in Federal Reserve Bond Purchases

September 21, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / Things To Do NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Few real journalists - if any - have ever honestly accused Rupert Murdoch and most of the large media brands he controls in our nation, of being bastions of truth. In fact, it would seem, quite the opposite - including by some of the people who work for him.

When Murdoch purchased the Wall Street Journal in 2007 [fact check], there were concerns that he would turn it into another one of his propaganda rags. Shortly after the acquisition, a number of Wall Street Journal reporters fled to Bloomberg News. In fact dozens of them. Those journalists that remained at the Wall Street Journal, had to learn how to operate for an Australian born billionaire who seems to delight in misleading the masses - rather than informing them - in order to profit from the audience's ignorance, to which Murdoch media appear to contribute greatly. Murdoch is kind of like a street hustler whose propagandists do sleight of tongue [hand] tricks, while his political accomplices [puppets like Trump & McConnell] pick the pockets of the audience [Americans].

Not Your Father's Wall Street Journal - A Murdoch Propaganda Rag?

This summer over 280 journalists at the Wall Street Journal, became concerned that Herr Murdoch - like Nazi propagandist Herr Goebbels before him - was corrupting the Wall Street Journal into a propaganda outlet, in advance of the election this November. While Murdoch's distortion of the truth in the Wall Street Journal appears to have been going on for years, the event that immediately precipitated the letter, was a misleading - even deceptive - Op Ed by Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence.

In the letter they had a few simple requests. A July 21, 2020 report in the Wall St Journal states,

"... [The WSJ's] Opinion's lack of fact-checking and transparency, and its apparent disregard for evidence, undermine our readers' trust and our ability to gain credibility with sources ..."

" ... The letter cites several examples of concern, including a recent essay by Vice President Mike Pence about coronavirus infections ... "

".. [and that] WSJ journalists should not be reprimanded for writing about errors published in Opinion ..."

"... suggests removing opinion pieces from the "Most Popular Articles" and "Recommended Videos" lists on the website, and creating a separate "Most Popular in Opinion" list..."

" ... letter highlighted was an opinion article titled "The Myth of Systemic Police Racism," which the letter's authors said was one of the paper's most read articles in June. The article argued that the "charge of systemic police bias was wrong during the Obama years and remains so today." The letter says the piece "selectively presented facts and drew an erroneous conclusion from the underlying data..."

i have reported on similar truth distortions by Rupert Murdoch's media, including Fox News, the NY Post and many other media outlets controlled by him in our section about Rupert Murdoch and the Rise of the 21st Century Propaganda Press, which you can find by clicking this link.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about Rupert Murdoch, an apparent stateless hostile foreign power, and his assault on American Democracy using his media outlets as the Trojan Horse - to promote apparent fraudulent narratives like 'the Trump economy'.

Was the 'Trump Economy' a Couple of Con Men's Mirage?

Did the Donald, with the Help of Rupert Murdoch's Wall St Journal, Fox Business & NY Post, Successfully Convince Americans into Thinking that the Donald was Responsible for an Economy that has Since Disappeared?

September 8, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Economic News / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Donald Trump is nothing, if not one of the greatest con men in the world. He allegedly - duped donors with the Trump Charity, duped enrollees of Trump University into thinking he would teach them the magic of his 'money making miracles', duped investors and bankers alike about the magic of the Trump Taj Mahal casino, duped contractors into thinking he would pay his bills, duped law enforcement vis a vis his money laundering scheme [they eventually caught him], duped Trump SoHo buyers about some of the facts related to the real estate they were buying.

But the greatest con the Donald may have ever done, wasn't getting voters to choose him in lieu of Hillary Clinton in 2016 - as Hillary need be given some of the credit for that - but was the convincing of nearly half the nation to believe that the Donald has some kind of magic touch vis a vis the 'Trump economy'. An economy which Trump then proceeded to crash by his stupefying mismanagement of the CoVid pandemic and subsequent public-pay-a-lot-and-get-nothing-back stimulus bills. What the Donald and Murdoch's Fox & Fake News seem to omit from the narrative of the magic of the 'Trump Economy' is the trillions in debt that they have dumped upon America's children. And they seem to give scant credit to the free wheeling multi-trillion dollar machinations of the Federal Reserve, which have kept interest rates low and liquidity available in an economy presided over by a seemingly corrupt man with a history of six bankruptcies.

Republican Deceit & Phony Fiscal Conservatism

I'm going to start with recent history to show how the Donald has robbed America's children by piling on public debt in order to give the super wealthy tax breaks, and subsequently doled out generous taxpayer funded stimulus checks, in order to gin up the economy to prop up his ailing reelection odds. And then I am going to work my way back to the early 1980's, so we can debunk the myth that Republicans are fiscal conservatives - because the last fifty years shows that they are not.

Republicans are talking point fiscal conservatives who scream about it as it suits their campaign convenience, and this includes their mid semester Washington, D.C. play-acting theatrics which are sometimes used to showcase their phony fiscal conservatism. Neither party seems fiscally conservative, and only one president in the past fifty years has run a federal government budget surplus [Democrat Bill Clinton in tandem with a Republican Congress]. So I'm asking you to not let them fool you, because fooling the public is the one skill at which the politicians in the Senate, House and Executive Branches of government seem most adept.

• CLICK here to view the rest of our report on Was the Trump Economy a Couple of Con Men's Mirage?

Triumph of The [Rupert's] Will: How Murdoch Manipulates Voter's Perceptions & Public Policy

Australian born Billionaire Appears to use his Media Outlets to Shape Voter's Views, Loading them with Misconceptions, So They'll Elect Compromised Fox Nation Pols, Who Upon Assuming Office, Seem to Reward Murdoch's Media Support, by Crafting Public Policy to Conform to Murdoch's Will, Favoring his Business Interests

September 4, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / U.S. Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

As mentioned previously, I've been doing a fairly deep dive into learning as much about the Third Reich and Nazi Germany as time permits, in order to more fully understand what's happening in present day events.

Media Manipulation for Fun & Profit

I began noticing similarities between Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch's manipulative use of his large share of Amerian media in 2016, to what Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda for the Nazis, did beginning in the 1920's until his end in 1945. On May 1, 1945 Goebbels poisoned his children, his wife and himself as the Allied forces neared his home. Hitler and his companions had committed suicide the day before, as Allied forces invaded Berlin. None of them had the courage to stand trial for their crimes against humanity ... although like Mussolini, they may not have made it to court.

1. Did Fox 'News' Attempt to Protect the Reputation of a Propaganda Asset via Omission?

So today, we're going to look at just a few of Murdoch's media manipulations made in just the past couple of months - and I'm nearly certain that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, I don't have the resource to fact check what is the largest misleading news content producing organization in the nation, and possibly the free world.

Let's start with the first two photos on this page. This story broke in the Guardian on July 7, 2020.

The first photo shows Fox News 'reporting the news' regarding the sexcapades of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell. In the first photo, Fox News conveniently cropped out Donald Trump. In the second photo [at right] we have the 'full picture' aka the truth.

The man who calls everyone else a 'sleezeball' is seen with Melania 'being best', and two of the people alleged to be among some of the sleeziest on the planet [Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell]. Do birds of a feather flock together?

So we must ask why Rupert Murdoch would crop Donald Trump out of the photo? Is it to avoid portraying the Donald in a negative light in order to keep him - a Murdoch asset - in office?

Trump appears to have been a boon to billionaire Murdoch through massive billionaire tax cuts funded by debt to be paid for by America's children and unborn? Or is because Trump's actions in the Middle East vis a visIsrael seemed to serve to legitimize Murdoch's investment in Genie Energy in the illegally occupied Syrian Golan Heights? Or was it because Trump loosened up the FCC ownership limits for mega media companies like Murdoch's thus allowing the few to control our media, which givens them the power to influence the national democratic conversation - and in Murdoch's case - it seems the power to corrupt it in order to profit from it. Or was it because Trump famously fired all U.S. Attorneys, including Preet Bharara - who was investigating Murdoch's companies for sexual harrassment and phone hacking - less than 24 hours after Sean Hannity on Fox News told him to do just that? Perhaps most importantly, Trump's Attorney General Bill Barr, greenlighted the merger of Disney / ABC, which was an inverted takeover resulting in Rupert Murdoch becoming Disney / ABC's largest shareholder.

• CLICK here to read our report on NYPBA police union endorsement of Trump seems out of step with the union rank and file, as well as the NYPD and NYC - but Murdoch's NY Post provides propaganda cover.

The Republican National Convention - Where Trump 'Reality' TV Mixes with Murdoch's Fox Fake News

The Donald's Deceit, Disrespect & Demagoguery were on Full Display

Has Trump Taken America from 'Reality' TV to Staged Fiction?

August 28, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / U.S. Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

It was a garish experience, watching the Republican Convention on TV this past week. The scripted and repetitive misleading and false statements, combined with what appeared outright lies, were delivered by different genders and colors of people so as to seem like it wasn't the choreographed theatrical production that it was. This is very much like what Rupert Murdoch's Fox News seems to do every night, and what Joseph Goebbels did for over a decade as the minister of propaganda for the Third Reich.

Has Trump Taken America from 'Reality' TV to Staged Fiction?

What I found interesting about the Republican Convention, was how it showcased women and people of color, who were representing what has essentially been a nearly All White Male Administration. Of the 22 cabinet level positions, only four [18%] are filled by women [Education, Transportation, CIA & Small Business] and only one [5%] person of color [Housing].

But you'd never, ever know that by watching the Trump RNC mirage this week, as women were showcased between a third and half the time [rough estimate is 40%] and there were at least three people of color [9%] - meaning the Republican Convention didn't look anything like the reality of the Trump Administration.

Trump Republicans of the Fox Nation Share Similarities to the Nazis of Goebbels Germany

I've been researching Goebbels, Hitler and the Third Reich since 2016. While investigating how Rupert Murdoch seemed to use his 'news' outlets as one big propaganda machine, I kept stumbling across references to all of them. Eventually I quit ignoring the references that popped up, and began following those threads, which have since led me to believe that the parallels between 1933 Nazi Germany and present day America are inescapable.

Fox News is comprised of seven hours of seemingly demagogic, even racist, propaganda programs including party line speeches and pseudo interviews by Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, The Five, Fox & Friends as well as numerous Pinocchio pundits such as Jeanine Pirro, Greg Gutfield, Steve Hilton, and even Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business These 'news personalities' seem to deviate from a fair and balanced reporting of the facts far too often. Here's a link to what appears to be a distorted, even racist, report of the shooting of an African American in Georgia by Tucker Carlson.

Some of the other shows appear biased, but I haven't had the time to really tune into analyze them, as the primetime propaganda machine is already far more than I can stomach, of what seems Murdoch's continuous demagogic deceit.

To legitimate the propaganda machine, Murdoch provides an hour of real news, the Special Report with Bret Baier weekdays, as well as Fox News Sunday which is another hour of real news hosted by Chris Wallace. Murdoch reportedly fired Shep Smith after Attorney General Bob Barr was sent on a Trump campaign errand to tell Murdoch to pull Smith because Smith wasn't towing the Trump train party line. Murdoch appeared to oblige and Shepard Smith has remained silent.

I. Murdoch's Demagogic Press Manipulates People's Perceptions to Deliver Votes at the Polls - Goebbels Shaped Germans' Perceptions to Align with the Fuhrer's

Usurpation of power is the point of the propaganda machine posing as a news organization. If people know it to be a source of false information, it would be discredited and not believed. But by disguising it, by combining the propaganda with real news, Fox News is able to believably portray the world the way Rupert Murdoch wants his audience to see it.

In this manner he can deliver millions upon millions of Americans, Brits and Australians into the voting booth loaded with his propaganda machine's manipulated perceptions of events and candidates, so that his audience will vote for those pols he favors and from which he, and by virtue of payola - his propaganda pundits - will profit. Since Trump became president, multi-millionaire Sean Hannity cut a favorable multi-million dollar low interest government loan deal with HUD Secretary Ben Carson related to Hannity's $90 million property holdings.

Both Trump and Murdoch are demagogues which Merriam Webster defines as,

"... a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power ..."

Hitler and Goebbels were also demagogues and that is how they usurped and retained so much power in Nazi Germany in the 1930's and 1940's, which is why when I was doing my research, Hitler, Goebbels and the Third Reich kept showing up in my searches.

II. Trump Disrespects American Traditions & the American People by Personalizing Government Power - Hitler did the Same

The background for the Republican National Convention was a couple of taxpayer funded sites - the White House and Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. This represents yet another Trump break with American tradition of respect for the rule of law. Trump is using these taxpayer funded public sites for free, to accumulate more power. Not paying for the use of the White House lawn as a Convention site isn't the worst of it - it's the politicization of the public's property - and the seat of power that I find most disturbing.

Again, Hitler did something similar after he was elected Chancellor of Germany in 1933. He started personalizing the buildings of the German republic by adorning them with Nazi flags. That was the beginning of the personalization of power, which culminated in Hitler becoming the sole decision maker for the entire nation on everything, on whatever level he wanted. Earlier this year I identified Trump's abusive use of the Department of Homeland Security as a national police force as a disturbing parallel. Click this link a story detailing how Donald Trump has been personalizing the power of the U.S. government.

Our Founding Fathers instituted a system of checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution in order to prevent someone from personalizing power. The personalization of power, if left unchecked, leads right back to an authoritarian regime, which is exactly what the American War of Independence was all about. Kings are dictators, who have personalized all of the state power.

CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the Republican National Convention 2020 - where the Donald's deceit, disrespect and demagoguery were on display where 'reality' TV morphed into televised illusion.

The Battle for the Soul of America Begins

Democrat Joe Biden Puts Forth a Bipartisan Convention & Makes a Strong Case for Uniting America Again

August 21, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / Dysfunctional Presidency of Donald J Trump / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

This week the virtual Democratic Convention took place across the nation beginning Monday and ending Thursday. I tuned in for a look / see on Monday, and found the convention of greater interest than I had expected. Each night I tuned in a bit more, ending last night watching most of the show.

Missing were the bells and whistles of major party conventions of prior years. The theatrical embellishments, large audiences and drama were also missing. But what came forth were four days of a well choreographed presentation for why the American people need to make a change in November.

In the photo at right is Braydon Harrington, a 13 year old stutterer featured in the Democratic National Convention. Harrington, like Biden, has a stutter handicap which is a neurological disorder that makes it difficult to get out certain words. Biden's father told Joe not to let his handicap define him.

Monday - Republican Governors, Bernie Sanders & Michelle Obama

The first night was hosted by Eva Longoria one of the stars of Suburban Housewives.

The program started on Monday and included New Yorkers Governor Cuomo and former Republican Congresswoman Susan Molinari. Molinari wasn't the only Republican to participate in the first night of the Democratic Convention. Two former Republican Governors - Christie Todd Whitman of New Jersey and John Kasich of Ohio - also participated, giving speechs at the Democratic virtual Convention.

One might ask why are Republicans giving speeches at the Democratic Convention. Both former Governors answered that question very clearly - they are concerned about the future of the American Democratic Republic if Trump's presidency doesn't end this year. Former New Jersey Republican Governor Whitman, a self described lifelong Republican, made the following statement which was published in an August 18, 2020 report by the New Jersey News Network,

"This isn't about a Republican or a Democrat. It's about a person ... A person decent enough, stable enough, strong enough, to get our economy back on track. A person who can work with everyone, Democrats and Republicans, to get things done. Donald Trump isn't that person Joe Biden is."

According to an August 17, 2020 report on Cleveland.com former Ohio Republican Governor Kasich, said he was proud of his Republican heritage, citing his party as the party of Lincoln, of unity and of a higher purpose. The Cleveland.com report said that,

"... Kasich ... [has] known Biden for 30 years, calling Biden a man of integrity"

They continued quoting Governor Kasich as follows,

" ... Yes, there are areas where Joe and I absolutely disagree. But that's OK because that's America ... Because whatever our differences, we respect one another ... no one person or party has all the answers ... But ... we know ... we can do better than what we've been seeing today for sure."

First Lady Michelle Obama advocated for Joe Biden's candidacy recommending that the American people replace a president "who is in over his head".

Senator Bernie Sanders delivered the most damning assessment of the Donald's four years in office, citing the CoVid pandemic infection and death rates, the pandemic economic fallout, and Trump's mismanagement of racial tensions which erupted in the wake of George Floyd's death. Sanders went on to call Trump a fraud citing Trump's promise to stand with working families before he won the office, and who after taking office gave huge tax breaks to the wealthy, tried removing discriminatory protections currently in place for people with pre-existing health conditions, and proposed massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Likely many of Trump's supporters aren't aware of the issues discussed in Sanders remarks, because information that doesn't portray the president in a positive light seems rarely [ever?] reported on Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, NY Post and Wall Street Journal.

• CLICK here for our report on the Democratic National Convention - Battle for the Soul of the Nation August 2020 Virtual Conventions.

Murdoch's Fox News Racism Revealed

Tucker Carlson Omits Key Facts of African American Deaths by Police

August 18, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / Rupert Murdoch & Fox Fake News Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

As far as I know, nobody has ever accused Rupert Murdoch of running an unbiased news operation. In fact, it's seems just the opposite, as countless people have found countless significant reporting errors by his mammoth news operation, which in the U.S. alone represents about half the large corporate branded news content viewed by Americans including Fox News, the Wall St Journal, the NY Post, Barron's, MarketWatch and increasingly ABC News where Murdoch is the largest shareholder.

What is most disturbing, is how the pinocchio propagandists on some Murdoch media outlets appear to omit key facts, in order to put forth narratives that are at odds with the truth, which are then imprinted on the minds of the millions upon millions of viewers who watch and believe what they see and hear on Fox News.

Manipulating what ends up in people's minds is exactly what Joseph Goebbels did as the Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany in the 1930's and 1940's. As in Nazi Germany, Herr Murdoch's propaganda ministry in the U.S., appears to use the media to favor some people or groups at the expense of other people and groups in its reporting. Oftentimes the groups Murdoch appears to favor break along race and economic class lines. We're going to look at how Tucker Carlson appears to have put forth a false Fascist narrative that further victimizes the African American victims of unnecessary violence at the hands of rogue policemen, whose errant behavior is defended far too often by the police unions.

To be sure, those who fall prey to such mass media manipulation, are also responsible for their own ignorance and subsequent behaviors, including their voting.

Thomas Jefferson said,

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse in any country. If it were, the laws would lose their effect, because it can always be pretended."

We saw this pretension of ignorance and denial of responsibility by many Germans following World War II, including from those operating in influential posts with access to top levels of the Nazi high command. They pretended their ignorance, but generally the truth wills out.

I'll make my case regarding Murdoch's Fox News and Tucker Carlson's reporting of African Americans appearing to be victimized by rogue policemen on Fox News Tucker Carlson's nationally televised show. I identified a couple of shows, which were broadcast over American airwaves using a high number of FCC licenses, reaching millions upon millions of Americans who appear to have been disinformed in what seems a systematic effort by Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch's media to provide distorted reporting with respect to incidents of police brutality vis a vis the African American community.

Fox News & Tucker Carlson Twist the Facts to Make a Trap for Fools?

The first incident we're going to review, is Tucker Carlson's Fox News coverage of the Rayshared Brooks shooting in Atlanta on Friday, June 12th, 2020. Rayshard Brooks was a 27 year old African American and father of three who was found misparked in a Wendy's parking lot, apparently sleeping. He was found to have a blood alcohol of nearly .11 which is above the legal limit for driving of .08. Brooks was not stopped while driving, but rather after he had misparked his car in a Wendy's drive thru queue.

• CLICK here to view our report on what appears to be Tucker Carlson's racist presentation of the news on Fox News - Is Fox a racist network?

Law Enforcement, the Economy, but First Home Sweet Home?

Is Home is Where the Heart is or Where We Sleep?

July 20, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC CoVid 19 Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Casino Royale: Will the Donald Bankrupt America with Trillions in Spending?

The Administration, meanwhile, seems terribly out of touch with reality. Their retarded response to the CoVid pandemic paved the way for the viral explosion. One of their greatest mistakes was that they politicized Americans' choice to defend themselves from the virus by wearing a mask, and they squandered away trillions of the public's money - with the enabling help of the Democrats - to keep businesses functioning, without obtaining much in the way of concessions from them.

If the Donald is a great negotiator, then he's negotiating away American's future, in exchange for a junkie boost to his reelection prospects, and self-enrichment [there was a $160 billion tax break given to real estate developers like Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner and he fired five Inspector Generals within the six weeks that the largest spending bills in American history were passed totallying $3 trillion].

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel obtained an equity stake of 20% - 25% from Lufthansa, in exchange for the German government bailout of that airline. And now the Donald and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are in discussions to throw away another trillion or more in added stimulus - again without obtaining any concessions from those who will receive it.

The image at right shows the headline of a January 9, 2019 report in Vanity Fair. This report was published over a year before the $3 trillion in stimulus spending done in March / April of 2020.

Bread Crumbs for the Masses & Melania's "I Don't Care Do U?"

There was $3 trillion in stimulus spending bills passed in late March and early April of 2020. But the money that working class Americans [161 million people] received in the form of U.S. Treasury $1,200 checks amounts to only $193 million [161 x $1,200] of the $3 trillion stimulus spending done to date. And then there was the extra $600 per week in added stimulus payments - which paid many unemployed workers more than they had been making and reportedly cost the American taxpayer over $15 billion per week according to a July 17, 2020 CNBC report.

The CNBC report noted that 25.6 million were on this $600 per week government payout program. According to the report the reason the total pandemic relief recipients are higher than the unemployed is because the package includes people who are,

"... business owners, self-employed Americans, gig workers and independent contractors who are not typically eligible for unemployment."

So a rough estimate of the cost of this $600 per week program is 13 weeks x $600 per person per week x 26 million = $203 million. If you add the payments from these two payout programs together then the total payout to working Americans was [$203 billion plus $193 billion] was $396 billion or 13% of the stimulus spending. Thus it seems - a relatively small number of mega millionaire and billionaire real estate developers like Donald Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and their [industry segment] friends - collected over a third as much as what all working classs Americans collectively received in stimulus handouts.

This self dealing doesn't seem to be anything new for the Trumps. And the Trump insensitivity to those who less fortunate than they are, appears equally legendary. As you can see in the June of 2018 Bazaar report above, Melania Trump demonstrated an incredible insensitivity during a visit to the Texas border detention centers for immigrant children, when she wore a jacket that had the words "I don't care do u" on it.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report comparing Donald Trump's use of the DHS in a manner similar / has parallels to how Hitler used the Gestapo.

July 4th Week - NYC Events & Happenings

City Restaurants Turned Inside Out, NYC NYPD Protests Continue, Broadway Cancels Fall Season, Major League Sports Update, Elections Results Still Unknown with Lessons for the Fall & July 4th Fireworks Begin

June 29, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC CoVid 19 Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC entered Phase II of its economic reopening a week ago. As part of that phase, restaurants were allowed to serve customers on the sidewalks in front of their establishments. Over the past week or so, more and more people have returned to enjoying a restaurant meal in a social milieu. Now when I'm returning home around or after dinner time I feel as if I'm walking right through the center of several restaurants.

Restaurants Turned Inside Out

It's kind of interesting, because I get to see the entire clientele without having to enter the restaurant and I can also see what the food looks like. I reckon the downside is that while it seems generally the customers have masks which I see lying on the tables, they take them off or pull them down while there. This makes sense as eating and drinking with the mask on is not feasible. The downside is that while I used to walk around the neighborhood without wearing the mask [it's ok out of doors when distancing six feet ], I've started wearing my mask out of doors while I'm walking through these restaurant seating areas ... just to be safe. The photo above was taken in Sunnyside Queens this week.

Phase III is expected to begin next week, and on Wednesday the Governor and Mayor will announce whether or not restaurants will be allowed to serve customers inside. There's reluctance to do so, as it is believed that the in house social interactions are one of the leading contributors to others states now seeing a surge in CoVid cases.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on NYC restaurants open onto streets, Broadway & NYC Marathon & Lincoln Center cancel Fall seasons, NYC 4th of July fireworks 2020 during pandemic & Major League Sports update.

NYC Life: Juneteenth, Summer Begins, Fathers Day, NYC Phase II, Atlanta Shooting & Election

The NYC Boroughs Showing Increasing Signs of Economic Life, but ...

June 19, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

The Mayor announced we're moving to Phase II of the economic reopening beginning Monday. According to a missive by Councilmember Van Bramer, Phase II means that restaurants can resume serving people on sidewalks, at curbside, in opens streets and plazas and in backyard seating - but they need permits which may be obtained at nyc.gov and he notes that restaurateurs do not need to apply separately for the liquor permit.

Retailers can now serve people in their shops by limiting capacity, while following mask, [barrier?] and cleaning protocols. The same is true for hair salons and barber shops. And realtors and auto dealers can resume working with clients, as can commercial building operations and offices on a case by case basis.

The photo at right was taken near Borough Hall in Brooklyn earlier this month.

On June 19, 1865 the Last Texas Slaves Were Freed

Juneteenth Celebrates the End of Slavery in the U.S.

Juneteenth is the date when the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed all of the slaves there, that they were free. Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1, 1863 - but rumor has it that word didn't reach Texas slaves until two and a half years later.

On Wednesday, June 17th, Governor Cuomo signed an Executive Order making today a holiday for NYS employees. There are also a number of marches and rallies to celebrate Juneteenth in all five boroughs, most beginning between 12 noon and 4 pm, which you can find by doing a search for 'juneteenth nyc'.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the NYC Phase II, Fathers Day, Juneteenth, Atlanta Shooting & NYS Primary Election.

George Floyd & Pink Floyd

Trying to Make Sense in a Senseless World

May 28, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / CoVid in NYC Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

I watched the George Floyd protests unfold on the nightly TV newscasts for a couple of days before venturing out myself to see what I might learn. The protests began on Friday, May 29th in NYC, following the death of George Floyd, an African American who was asphyxiated, apparently due to a Minneapolis policeman holding a knee over George Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes which was caught on video.

TV News Appears to Sensationalize More than Inform

On Saturday night Fox News ran and reran the same footage multiple times of a car burning, seeming to hype and sensationalize the footage into a full blown 'riot'. The a lot of the Fox footage was taken from the air, in a helicopter which they lease (reportedly) for millions annually, which again repeatedly showed video of the crowd below, which appeared to be mostly our men in blue. So given little good video, they talked about groups dallying into the police and back again - but really didn't seem to have any video to support their claims. The next day Mayor de Blasio reported that there were no deaths and no serious injuries to members of the NYPD or the crowd. But there was some looting.

An NBC news account made the situation seem far more chaotic than it was by shaking the camera, providing the appearance of chaos. And so on.

More Photos & Video Coming Wednesday

Covering the George Floyd Protests in NYC from the Ground - Not from a Cushy Corporate Media Chopper

The 'crisis' seemed to be more manufactured by the TV news, than by what was actually happening on the streets, which is why I decided I needed to cover this myself. Second hand TV news seems increasingly like garbage news, but before I could make such a claim, I had to see for myself.

Having grown up in a newspaper family, I've been watching the news and presentation of it all of my life, beginning with the Kennedy assassination, which my father made all of us watch as he said it was history in the making. Back then the news was owned by dozens, if not hundreds of independent newspapermen and broadcasters, so like social media, there was a variety of news presentations and you could pick from them.

Today large multi-billion dollar corporations control most of the news we see, and it seems their focus is largely centered around profit driven ratings instead of a fair and balanced presentation of the news. This is why they seem to hype, sensationalize and distort Americans' perceived reality in order to keep them glued to the tube. And the hyping and sensationalizing is not getting better - it's getting worse.

No longer can you turn on the TV to be informed, but rather to be scared, angered and far too often - to become disinformed.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the George Floyd Pink Floyd protests in NYC.

CoVid Back to Work NYC – Part III

Mayor & Governor Attempt a Balancing Act Worthy of the Flying Wallendas

May 3, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC CoVid 19 Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Well, at least we had a pleasant weather weekend. People were out and about again in greater droves than they have been in about a month and a half. It was just nice to stretch one’s legs, soak in a bit of sunshine and see people again … albeit at a social distance.

Looking ahead the Mayor and Governor are in a tight spot, as people’s economic needs begin to weigh heavily upon them, given a second month of rent and other payments have come due. Thus these two intrepid leaders need to work out a path to economic recovery, while not letting up on keeping the evil CoVid virus in check. My intent here is to add my two cents in hopes of stimulating dialogue and actions in that direction.

Putting Things In Perspective

Let’s start with what has happened this past week. NYS CoVid Hospitalizations had skyrocketed to about 19,000 the week of April 13th, 2020. By this past weekend they had fallen to about 10,000 – nearly half of the peak.

At the time the Governor and Mayor, with federal government assistance, had put in place plans to accommodate the skyrocketing infected numbers, which as of April 13th had hit 195,000 people in New York State and about 107,000 in New York City. Today the cumulative totals for New York State are 318,000 and for New York City 177,000.

Brief History Of How Covid 19 Started In NYC & NYS

The first person identified with the CoVid virus, was a Manhattan healthcare worker who had picked it up overseas. She tested positive or it became publicly known on March 1st, 2020. A week and a half later, on March 10, 2020, Governor Cuomo set up a containment area in New Rochelle where there was a significant outbreak. The Governor’s NY Pause – essentially shutting down non-essential business – began evolving shortly thereafter.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on CoVid Crisis NYC: Balancing community health and safety with the economic implications.

It's a Corona Virus Weekend NYC II

Even more than Last Week, the Corona Virus Pandemic Shuts Down NYC

* March 20, 2020 / NYC Social Issues / NYC Neighborhoods / Corona Virus in NYC & NYS CoVid 19 / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

* Weather. The Temperature highs will be in the mid 70's on Friday, dropping to 50 on Saturday and the mid 40's by Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the mid 40's on Friday, dropping to the mid 30's Saturday, rising a bit to the high 30's on Sunday. There is a 40% chance of a minuscule amount of Rain on Friday afternoon, for which the peaking probability is at 5 pm. Then no rain for the rest of the weekend, but cloudy Saturday morning. Winds will be 10 - 15 mph all weekend. The Humidity will be around 70 on Friday dropping to the mid 40% range for the rest of the weekend. Click for NYC Weather.

* MTA / Public Transit / Click here for the MTA Weekender.

A Racist President Applies a Demagogue Label to CoVid

Unfortunately we have a president, who oftentimes makes situations worse, because of his ignorant and childish behavior. The Donald seems to be trying to label the Corona Virus the China virus and quite frankly, is doing more to confirm some of the labels given to him - like he's a racist - than convincing anyone other than his Fox 'News' toadies - to go along with his not-helpful-in-addressing-the-CoVid-crisis ploy.

It seems that our babyman president, won't even act like an adult, even in the midst of what appears to be the world's worst pandemic in this millenia.

A demagogue is

"a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument."

MTA Sanitizes Subway Cars and Buses

The NYC MTA moves between four and six million people daily. That's a mind boggling figure when you think about it. But last week ridership began falling significantly. And by this week, about a million or more people, had found some other way to get around, or were staying home. Thus the MTA is seeking federal funding to the tune of about $4 billion to help it shore up the lost revenue. And the ridership reductions are expected to continue for a while.

The MTA stepped up its cleaning regimen effective March 3, 2020. It now santizes its subway cars and buses on a rotating schedule every three days. Have the subways ever been so clean? In spite of the effort folks are still encouraged to practice social distancing meaning keeping six feet apart from others when possible. Anyone who is ill is asked to stay home.

The photo above right shows a placard on the subway, artistically depicting the diversity of our city. We live at the crossroads of the world, which means we are both the beneficiaries of that intellectual and cultural diversity, but also carry risks which are associated with that openess, because of our societal exposure. Like everything in life, we must strive to find the right balance of cultivating our openess, while managing and minimizing the associative risks. Data, science, education and discipline can help us strike the right balance.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on how NYS is stepping up its own CoVid testing - after the U.S. federal government was reported to not only have failed to provide feasible tests, but also restricted states from acting on their own - and how the Corona Virus is impacting NYC first responders, public transit workers and the sanitation department. The report also includes a brief look into what happened in Italy.

A Closer Look at Murdoch's NY Post Editorial on Eric Garner's Death vis a vis Officer Pantaleo

A Union Busting Billionaire's Newspaper Writes an Opinion Omitting Key Facts

The Post's Editorial Reminded me of the Prosecutor's Case in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

August 14, 2019 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

In the 1962 film [based on the 1960 book by Harper Lee] 'To Kill a Mockingbird', attorney Atticus Finch takes up the defense of an African American, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white woman in a small, rural town in Alabama. The verdict is a foregone conclusion in the Depression era deep south, but Atticus Finch does his best to defend Tom, and in doing so, finds plenty of holes in the prosecutor's case. Similarly, I also found holes in Murdoch's NY Post Editorial Board's case, which are provided below. The issue of race was an underlying issue in 'To Kill a Mockingbird', and there are many who believe there's an underlying race issue here.

Murdoch's New York Post Editorial, in a Nutshell, Seems to Tell Why America, Britain & Australia are Divided

By the end of August, NY Police Commissioner James O'Neill will decide whether to keep Officer Daniel Pantaleo on the New York City Police Force. The union boss of the NY Patrolmen's Benevolent Association [NYPBA], Patrick Lynch, came out strongly in favor of keeping Pantaleo on the NY police force, stating that, "He's [Pantaleo] has done nothing wrong." I've provided information taken from a number of different, generally reliable sources, down below, including a link a live video of the incident, so you can cut & paste into your browser, and see / judge for yourself.

The NY Post Editorial Board should be ashamed of itself for such a shoddy, one-sided presentation of the facts used in their opinion. That the highest ranking members of one of America's largest newspapers would publish such rubbish, provides added support to the notion that the union busting billionaire who controls the paper, is a predator propagandist. All of the members of the NY Post 'Editorial Board' who didn't strongly object to this opinion should be fired and Rupert Murdoch should be asked to resign as Chairman of the Board at Newscorp.

Murdoch's New York Post Cherry Picked the Facts for their Opinion

Murdoch and his NY Post Editorial Board didn't sign their names to the Editorial, but rather chosed to hide behind their newspaper brand. On August 1, 2019 Murdoch's NY Post Editorial Board's opinion headline read,

"The Facts Say: Do Not Fire Daniel Pantaleo".

Yes, Murdoch's NY Post's CHERRY-PICKED facts might say that. But if provided a full reading of the facts, the full facts might say just the opposite. Let's start with the live video, so you can take a look for yourself, before we delve into the background information. If you want, you may cut and paste this into your browser bar to view the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s8JklrBSlk

NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo was recorded on video making the arrest of Eric Garner. Eric Garner was a six foot three, 350 pound, African American who was allegedly illegally selling cigarettes on the street. It's worth noting that Garner had had a number of previous encounters with the police and that Pantaleo had previously been charged in two civil rights lawsuits.

Five Key Omissions by Murdoch's New York Post Editorial Board

NY POST KEY OMISSION I - Pantaleo's complaint history was not included in Murdoch's NY Post opinion, while some of Garner's history with the law was.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the Eric Garner Death, Daniel Pantaleo's Future, NYPBA union boss Pat Lynch and Union Busting Billionaire Rupert Murdoch.

The Old Fox Fakes the News _ Case Study: How Rupert Murdoch Manipulates Public Perception

For the Second Time in Two Weeks, Murdoch's Mendacious Media Appear to Hype a Low Level Incident, to Incite Public Opinion Against the Mayor

July 23, 2019 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics / New Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Billionaire Rupert Murdoch must still consider Mayor de Blasio as a viable contender for the Democratic nomination for president, or his propagandistic news outlets - the NY Post & Fox News - wouldn't be so stridently attempting to stir up public emotion and opinion against the Mayor, using low-level incidents to stir unrest.

Murdoch Seems to Hype, Inflame & Amplify 'News' Incidents to Attack the Mayor

Little more than a week ago, Murdoch's NY Post hyped and seemed to blame the power outage in West Midtown on the Mayor because the Mayor was out of town that weekend. The outage lasted a bit more than 24 hours and without any major incident. NYC had three power outages during the Bloomberg Administration and I don't recall Murdoch's NY Post calling for his fellow billionaire to be fired. See report below.

This week Murdoch's Fox 'News', with what seemed an assist from ABC 'News' [in which Murdoch became the largest shareholder this year], hyped what appeared to be a disrespectful, but essentially a low-level neighborhood policing incident - into a highly sensationalist attack on the Mayor.

Note that this report is NOT about the incident itself - which as stated appeared disrespectful - but rather about Murdoch's HYPING of a harmless neighborhood policing incident [nobody was hurt and the arrest was made without further incident] on the Fox 'News' Network, FOR THE ENTIRE NATION TO SEE - seemingly in order to manage the America's public perception of Mayor Bill de Blasio, in what appears a pre-emptive attack on the Mayor before his candidacy for president gains traction.

Hyping an Incident Out of Proportion - The Facts

Let's start with the incident itself. I first found the story on Murdoch's Fox ' News'. I then found it in reports by ABC [where Murdoch became the largest shareholder this year], and the NY Daily News which is controlled by the Tribune Company. Like a lot of ill-managed corporate 'news' outlets these days, oftentimes you'll find outlets blindly following the petty narratives put out by Murdoch 'news' outlets, which is in part how Murdoch controls how people in this city and in the nation view events.

There were two incidents: one in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn and one in Harlem. ABC reported that the Brownsville incident, where a couple of police were doused with a bucket of water as the temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees, as "... officers deliberately cooling down with residents ...".

The second incident was in Harlem, where a police officer was making an arrest and was doused with water and had a plastic pail thrown at him. The NY Daily News report also includes video depicting a woman - not dressed in a police uniform - standing near an NYPD vehicle being doused with water. If one doesn't scrutinize this portion of the video, it gives the impression that the person they are dousing is an NYPD officer - which they are not.

According to the ABC report, the Brownsville incident appears to be much ado about nothing [see above quote], but that quote may possibly provide context for the Harlem incident, where the dousing appeared not welcome and the plastic pail being thrown could be interpreted as assaulting an officer, or attempting to interfere in the arrest.

The Mayor said as much when queried about it. But as noted when I began this report - this is not about the incident itself - it's about how Murdoch's deceitful media outlet appeared to hype and distort it way out of context in order to use it to manipulate people / stir unrest / channel anger at the Mayor for what appears to be billionaire Rupert Murdoch's political and propaganda for profit agenda.

Stop & Think for a Minute - Real News vs Fake News Like This

Nobody was injured, and there wasn't any direct interference with the arrest which was being made in a local community. The incident was managed by neighborhood police, but caught on cell phone video, and picked up by who ... one of Murdoch's mendacious media outlets.

Wouldn't it seem that with all the real crimes like murders, burglaries, rapes and other crimes going on in the U.S., that the Fox Network 'News', ABC 'News' and the NY Daily 'News' might have something more important to cover with their reporting teams?

Or is this what we get from those who have been honored with FCC television licenses? Regurgitated neighborhood videos, shown largely out of context, that we can find online ourselves?

Why does Murdoch's news outlets have FCC licenses at all? Shouldn't these broadcast licenses be awarded to someone else, if this is how people like Murdoch, who currently control them, are using the public airwaves?

I think it's time community groups start challenging Murdoch's Fox Fake News misuse of their FCC TV broadcast licenses - click the link above to view a report series we have done about Murdoch's misuse of the mass media he controls. Use this information to file a brief challenging Fox News FCC license in your community ... and I'm pretty sure if you monitor Murdoch's TV news outlets locally, you'll find abuses of the truth that will lend added support to your case.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on how America's Mayor Rudy Giuliani seemed to betray the public with the help of Murdoch's Fox Fake News & the NY Post propaganda & the WSJ.

Billionaire Rupert Murdoch & his NY Post Order Us to Fire the Mayor

Murdoch & his NY Post Seem to Want a Puppet NANNY not a Mayor

July 14, 2019 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics / New Analysis, Opinion & Satire / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Multi-Billionaire Rupert Murdoch, the puppet master of the world's three largest English-speaking democracies, has dictated that we must remove Mayor de Blasio NOW.

Murdoch's NY Post headline was almost predictable. Mayor de Blasio was campaigning in Iowa over the weekend, and while he was away, there was a 25 hour power outage in west midtown [Saturday]. MURDOCH & his minions on the NY POST Editorial Board want the Mayor fired - like he is their nanny who left town - without tucking them in that night.

In the photo at right is multi-billionaire Rupert Murdoch who controls two [Newscorp & Fox Corp] of the six largest U.S. media companies which control about 80% of U.S. media. Murdoch also became the largest shareholder of Disney / ABC in the Spring of 2019 [which brings Murdoch's control / influence to three of the six largest media companies in the U.S.]. This huge media merger was made possible thanks to a waive through by the 'Trump Department of Justice'. Murdoch appears to have turned Australia and Britain into Murdoch-controlled banana republics, and seems well on his way to doing the same here in the United States.

I'm nearly certain the Donald, Murdoch's current nanny president, would remove Mayor de Blasio - were it in the Donald's power to do so. Since the Donald appears to have carried out so many of Murdoch's instructions since coming to office just two and a half years ago.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about Murdoch's NY Post propaganda 'news' distortion using a power outage in Midtown NYC to call for firing Mayor de Blasio.

NYC Mayor de Blasio Announces a Run for President

And Multi-billionaire Rupert Murdoch Attacks with a Barrage of Dimwitted Political Punditry (aka attack ads), by his Paid-for Puppet Commentators, on his Pinocchio Propaganda Machine

May 17, 2019 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics & Government / News Analysis, Opinion & Satire / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Mayor Bill de Blasio entered the race for president on Thursday and Rupert Murdoch's NY Post, Fox News and Wall Street Journal wasted no time in torrentially mocking him.

Is it because Mayor de Blasio was able to hold Murdoch's propaganda media outlets at bay, while implementing a solid record of pragmatic, Progressive reform in NYC?

Hog Heaven: Piggy Murdoch Lapping it up at the Trump Trough?

Multi-billionaire Rupert Murdoch appears to have been feeding heavily at his own public-to-private trough since DJT came to office two and a half years ago. The following are a few facts surrounding what I've come to think of as Murdoch's relationship to his Manchurian Candidate [Editor's Note: I encourage you to research words and cultural references used herein, if you're not familiar with them].

Trump dismissed all U.S. Attorneys including Preet Bahara who was investigating Murdoch's companies for alleged illegal hacking [they got caught doing this in Britain] and sexual harassment. Trump gave billionaires like Murdoch and their companies huge, huge tax cuts, to be paid for - not with spending cuts [which would have been honest] - but rather by stealing from America's babies and unborn babies as America's parents did not stand up for them.

Trump also appointed Ajit Pai to the top position at the FCC, reportedly at Murdoch's suggestion. Ajit then loosened the ownership rules on media companies, like Murdoch's, so that Murdoch could acquire more TV stations, adding to his already dominant share of American broadcast media.

Trump's 'Justice' Department then approved an inverted takeover of Disney / ABC by Murdoch where Murdoch cashed in handsomely, while becoming the largest shareholder of Disney / ABC stock in a deal he cut with his friend of at least a decade, Bob Iger, who reportedly wants to become the President of the United States (after Trump?).

Assuming Murdoch wrests control of Disney / ABC - the Murdoch family will control three of the six largest media companies in the United States [21st Century Fox / NewsCorp / Disney ABC] or nearly half of the market.

! Please think about the sentence above, because it's important !

Australia Leads Democracies into Farmer Murdoch's 'Animal Farm' and Britain & America aren't far Behind

As we've seen in Australia, it's not really a democracy if one man controls most of the information the voters use to make their decisions. This is especially true when that man appears willing to play fast and loose with the truth, in order pursue his own agendas, and to fill his own pockets.

Murdoch appears to be the one person most responsible for the election of Tony Blair, David Cameron, and re-election of Margaret Thatcher in Britain; the election of George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump in this country; and the election of numerous Australian Prime Ministers. He appears to have done this by using his media outlets as a propaganda machine, which appears to present / report the world as Murdoch wants his audience to see it, so can get the audience to vote for the candidates he wants. The candidates he seems to favor are those - who after getting elected - like Trump, appear to give him what he wants. In this fashion Murdoch seems to have been enriching and empowering himself at the expense of the very audience he keeps ignorant, for decades. In Australia one of the Prime Ministers that Murdoch 'installed' was a former Murdoch employee [Tony Abbott]. After becoming Prime Minister, the Abbott Administration failed to file follow-on court documents - which resulted in about a $900 million loss by Australian taxpayers - and a $900 million gain by Murdoch's companies.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about Mayor de Blasio announcing his run for the presidency and what appears to be Rupert Murdoch's mass media manipulation machine disinformation campaign using Fox Fake News, WSJ, NY Post propaganda against him.

NY Post Propaganda, Fox News Distortions & NYC Elections

Will Murdoch's Propaganda Outlets Impact NYC Municipal Elections & the NYS Ballot Referendums of 2017?

November 5, 2017 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

How Reliable are the Polls?

On Tuesday November 7, 2017 New Yorkers have an opportunity to assert their will at the ballot box. While the polls indicate Mayor de Blasio will win re-election, it’s important to recall that only a year ago, all but one of the polls forecast that Hillary Clinton would win the presidency.

Having reliable information sources is important to making good choices.

In the 2016 presidential election we saw a corruption of a lot of information that was published and videocast about the candidates, which was used in an attempt to manipulate voters' view of them - aka propaganda.

The following provides a look at the dominant NYC news information provider with an eye to how fair and accurate they have been in their reporting of NYC news. The report contains links to additional information related to this report, as well as additional information about the impending NYC Mayoral election.

Billionaire Murdoch's NY Post & Fox News Appear to have Spent the Past Couple Years Distorting NYC News

One billionaire, Keith Rupert Murdoch, controls a guesstimated 40% of the branded, local, major media outlets in New York City - including the

• NY Post
• Fox News Network
• WWOR TV Channel 9
• The Wall Street Journal
• WNYW TV Channel Fox 5

Murdoch appears to use his media outlets as one giant propaganda machine, pouring out billions of impressions around the world into unaware voters / consumers minds. The Murdoch media oftentimes appears to contain misleading, out-of-context narratives that seem intended to manipulate audiences into believing / feeling positively or negatively about politicians / government officials based on distorted reporting of allegations, sensationalizing nits and sometimes outright fictions fabricated or amplified by contributors of the Fox Fake News Factory. These impressions often enough appear to further Murdoch's insatiable appetite for money and power, by removing or promoting pols into positions where they can be used to advance Murdoch's profit-seeking interests.

Murdoch also controls a number of national publications he’s acquired over the past decade or so, such as Barrons and National Geographic. Oftentimes, if not always, it appears that Murdoch changes editorial staff and reporting standards soon after Murdoch acquisitions have been completed. Generally those changes appear to change what was once a respected news organization into what seems to be a Murdoch propaganda machine. We’ve been reporting on what appears to be Rupert Murdoch’s nefarious use and abuse of his media outlets in a series we’ve entitled Murdoch Media Madness / Fox Fake News / NY Post propaganda.

• Click here to continue reading our report about how Rupert Murdoch appears to have used the NY Post for propaganda and Fox News as a fake news factory during the 2016 - 2017 elections cycles including the NYC Mayor's race.

How Duplicitous was James Murdoch's Donation?

Like Father Like Son: Is Rupert's Son also a Talented Deceiver?

Does Murdoch's Fox News RACIAL - ize to SENSATIONALIZE?

Updated September 3 / August 28, 2017 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

On Thursday, August 17th, 2017 a huge amount of publicity went out to the people of the United States and the world, that James Murdoch, the CEO of 21st Century Fox and Chairman of British Sky PLC, gave a $1 million donation to the Anti Defamation League.

The Anti-Defamation League [ADL] is a worthy cause, as according to the ADL website,

"The mission of ADL is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all."

James Murdoch and Fox News probably couldn't have come even close to securing this kind of positive publicity by spending ten times that amount of money on advertisements.

Murdoch's the Name & Mass Media Manipulation is the Game

Given the recent human tragedy of the Charlottesville terrorist attack, and in a time where Neo Nazis and the KKK are back on the march, the donating to the Anti-Defamation League certainly seems like a timely and good cause.

But the public relations aspect of James' donation is only where the story begins - as James Murdoch is the Chief Executive Officer of 21st Century Fox - a position he appears to have secured by virtue of his Royal Birthright. James is the son and one of the heirs to the media empire of multi-billionaire global propagandist Keith Rupert Murdoch - who coincidentally is the Chairman of 21st Century Fox. According to Rupert Murdoch's own words he is also a "good friend" of Donald Trump.

How Racist the Sly Fox (News)?

So while Fox CEO James Murdoch made a $1 million donation to fight discrimination, one could make the case that one of the more significant (indirect) contributing factors in the rise in anti-Muslim, anti-Semitism and / or racism in America is what appears to be the distorted RACIAL - izing reporting done by Murdoch controlled 'news' outlets - the most notable of which is Fox News.

I'm going to give you three examples of what appears to be Fox News implicit nod to racism by skewed presentations of the facts - including significant omissions, out-of-context distortions and fictionalizations. I encourage you to look for other appearances of this by Murdoch media outlets, whenever you're getting your news from them. The Murdochs control literally hundreds of different media outlets around the globe.

In NYC alone the Murdodchs control the Fox TV Network, NY Post, Wall St Journal and two local TV stations WWOR-TV [Channel 9] and Fox [Channel 5].

And it's worth mentioning that there is a pending lawsuit against the Murdoch's Fox News regarding employment discrimination. I won't delve into the allegations of illegal sexism at the organization as this has already been widely reported. An April 25, 2017 report in the NYT noted,

"Eleven current and former Fox News employees filed a class-action lawsuit in New York against the network, accusing it of “abhorrent, intolerable, unlawful and hostile racial discrimination.”

Fox News Appears to RACIAL -ize a Rape to SENSATIONALIZE it

On March 22, 2017 the Murdochs' Fox News had Bill O'Reilly do a report about the rape of a high school girl allegedly by two illegal immigrants. The thrust of Bill O'Reilly's distorted commentary appeared to be the implication that illegal immigrants are rapists.

Murdochs' Fox News report went on to bash the other media which Murdoch's Fox News has called dishonest, propagandist, fake, elitest, liberal and left wing for not reporting the rape.

What O'Reilly doesn't tell you is that,

"... according to the United States Department of Justice document Criminal Victimization in the United States, there were overall 173,610 victims of rape or sexual assault, or 0.1% of the US population 12 or older in 2013 [source Wikipedia]."

O'Reilly Fails to Acknowledge his own Allegedly Sexist Past

What alleged sexist Bill O'Reilly didn't tell his audience in his immigrant rapists report - less than two weeks before the story broke - was that,

"Bill O’Reilly, Fox News pay $13M to settle sexual harrasment suits from five women" [NY Daily News headline on April 2, 2017]

Is Bill O'Reilly a hypocrite who wants to have things both ways?

Murdochs' Fox News and Bill O'Reilly would have to do broadcasts about rape 482 times per day to report all of the rape / sexual assault crimes in this nation.

Why was this particular rape the one to report out of hundreds of thousands committed in the United States? One might conjecture it was reported because James & Rupert Murdoch's Fox News could win ratings with Bill O'Reilly RACIAL - izing the story in order to SENSATIONALIZE the story. A practice which, like Murdoch's Fox News alleged sexism, and what seems the Murdochs' organization penchant for illegally hacking people, appears to be a part of the Murdoch organization ethos or corporate culture.

The silver lining of the rape landscape in America is that the number of rapes per thousand people in the USA has been declining fairly steadily for decades. See graph posted in Wikipedia above.

So if James Murdoch REALLY wanted to make a statement against racism and Nazis - it seems he could have done far more good by terminating this sort of racial-ized reporting on the Murdochs' own news outlets - than by making a highly publicized donation using the Main Stream Media to tell the world that the Murdochs don't embrace racism.

Based on how the Murdochs' organization reports things, it seems James - like his father - wants people to believe he's one way, while he profits from doing things another way.

Is Racist Reporting done on Fox News?

Fox Fiction Factory: O'Reilly's Fictional Swedish Security Expert

The first example was a piece by former Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly in February of this year.

The O'Reilly Factor on Murdoch's Fox News presented Nils Bildt, whose birthname is Nils Tolling, as a Swedish security expert. Tolling / Bildt was asked to comment as an 'expert witness' about the current security problem that Sweden was (allegedly) having with immigrants.

O'Reilly used a Wall Street Journal report [the Wall St Journal is also controlled by the Murdochs] for his story. Murdoch's Wall Street Journal had published a report about Swedish immigration problems which failed to include important facts [I couldn't find the story so they must have pulled it down, but it's mentioned in the broadcast].

Apparently the WSJ article reported that about of third of women in Sweden feared for their safety. The WSJ failed to note that it was a third of the IMMIGRANT women who were fearful for their safety in Sweden, leaving Murdoch's Wall St Journal audience with the erroneous impression that it was the Swedish women who were fearful.

Nils Tolling aka Nils Bildt turned out to be something of an imposter as he used a second name - not his birthname, and O'Reilly / Fox claimed for him a title and position he never held, and Fox / O'Reilly appeared to give us impression that he was living in Sweden, when in fact he lives in Montana. O'Reilly seemed 'to lead his expert witness' Tolling / Bildt, who told O'Reilly viewers that Sweden was experiencing significant immigration problems. O'Reilly's other guest, Anne-Sofie Naslund, was correctly billed as a Swedish reporter who told O'Reilly's audience that what he was reporting was not true.

Fox News Fake News: Is Murdochs' Fox News a Racist Fiction Factory?

Murdoch's Fox News O'Reilly, a 42 year news / propaganda veteran, was confronted with the torrent of fictions included in his broadcast. O'Reilly responded by admitting he and Fox News had made errors - but told the reporter that the rest of the story was true. Click here for a more detailed accounting of Bill O'Reilly interview with Nils Bildt or Nils Tolling.

In the graphic at right, The Sun, a Murdoch-controlled British newspaper seems to play the Murdoch organization's racist card against Pakistani immigrants in Britain. While one can be against immigration without being racist - implying that immigrants are lawbreakers and rapists at a higher level than the general population is Fox fake news. As a point in fact, based on studies done in the U.S., immigrants appear to commit crimes at lower levels than the general population.

Click here to CONTINUE - Is Fox News Sensationalizing by Racial - izing?

Click here to continue and read more about James Murdoch's donation to the ADL - Anti-Defamation League & how it appears that Murdoch's organizations sensationalize by racial - izing issues.

Is Fox News the Biggest and the Original Fake News?

Has Rupert Murdoch’s Global Propaganda Machine been Publishing & Broadcasting Fake News for Decades?

July 13, 2017 / Murdoch Media Madness Section / NYC Business & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

It didn’t take long after Rupert Murdoch bought into his first British newspaper, News of the World, before he changed the tone and quality of its content in such a manner that Murdoch soon became known as the ‘dirty digger’. At first Murdoch dug for dirt on the rich and powerful by sensationalizing the headlines about them, to sell more newspapers and ads.

Did the Dirty Digger Transform his Sensationalist News Organization into a Propaganda Machine?

After Murdoch started running News of the World, he appears to have found that he could re-purpose his dirty digging research, into a second and possibly more profitable venture, by using it to manipulate the public’s perceptions of political candidates just prior to those plebeians going to the polls. It seems Keith Rupert Murdoch developed a habit of taking the low road during one of British Prime Minister Thatcher's election cycles. After the election was over, in a Nazi propagandist fashion, Murdoch proclaimed in the front page headlines of his British newspaper that “The Sun Had Won It’ … for British Prime Minister Thatcher.

It seems this was to be just the beginning of Murdoch’s lifelong journalistic descent into an unethical, Faustian, bottomless Hell.

Is Fox Fake News America's First & Largest Fake News Factory?

The following incidents are really just a few of what appear to be the tip of the iceberg of the mass produced media manipulations rolling off the media production line of Murdoch’s fake news fabrication factory since around the time of the Fox TV Network launch in 1996.

I have included a few incidents from before the Fox launch as I think they’re important for the British to keep in mind as they evaluate Murdoch’s bid for Sky TV. Sky TV is Britain’s most powerful, privately owned, national TV network. And I have not included much from the 2016 presidential campaign in America, nor of the Trump presidency of 2017, since each of those periods could fill entire books by themselves.

Murdoch Seek to Take Full Control of Britian's Largest, Privately Owned Broadcaster

The British Ofcom Department recently ruled that Murdoch is fit to serve the public, but I recommend they put on their eyeglasses, as the following record – in tandem with the multitude of allegations of sexual and racist misconduct which have recently become public at Fox News in NYC – should provide proof that further consideration be given to the possibility that Murdoch is not fit to serve the public.

Murdoch’s organization appears to be guilty of a cesspool of journalistic abuses of the public stewardship entrusted to him - by the people of America - through the grants of the FCC broadcast licenses his company controls. I pray that Britain will not make the same mistake, by enabling him to take full control of Sky TV.

Leading up to his acquisition and abuse of media power in the United States, mega Billionaire Keith Rupert Murdoch appears to have been practicing the propagandist darks arts in Britain. So buckle up, and here we go.

Click here to read the rest of our report on Fox News Fake News?

Orwell's 1984 in 2017: Newspeak or NewsCorp?

Rupert Murdoch's Orwellian NewsCorp

April 4, 2017 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Film / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

On April 4th several New York City arts organizations provided their audiences with the opportunity to watch the film, Ninteen Eighty-Four, based on George Orwell's book by the same name. Orwell published the book in 1949 - just a few short years after the fall of Adolph Hitler and his Nazi regime. The significance of the April 4th date is that that is the date first inscribed in the diary of Winston Smith, the central character and protagonist in the book / film.

Orwell [born Eric Arthur Blair in 1903] was a journalist and novelist who covered the Spanish Civil War in 1936 - 1937, during which the Communists fought the Nationalists for control of Spain. In 1938 Orwell wrote the book Homage to Catalonia about the war, and one of the notable quotes penned in that book was,

"One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting."

When World War II broke out, Orwell [who had tuberculosis] was declared "unfit for any kind of military service" by the British Medical Board. Nonetheless, Orwell spent two years [1941 - 1943] as a broadcaster for the BBC's Eastern Service. Around the time he left the BBC, Orwell began work on a book entitled Animal Farm which he finished and published around the end of the war in 1945. The book talked about how a democracy of pigs was eventually corrupted by those at the top, who fashioned the governance to serve themselves, while exploiting the other members of the farm. One of Orwell's notable quotes penned in that novel was,

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."

Between the end of the war through to the end of his life [died 1950], Orwell kept on writing - finishing and publishing his last novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four- in 1949. In the film 1984, Newspeak is the party language and is characterized by a diminishing vocabulary which is designed to limit thoughts of opposition to the party and leadership, in order to maximize party influence and control.

NewsCorp Newspeak: Rupert Murdoch's NY Post & Fox 'News'

I've been watching Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp and 21st Century Fox media outlets for about a year now.

The Mayor is Innocent but Murdoch's NY Post 'Fake News' Headlines & Stories Fuel a Perception of Corruption

I started tracking them because I found the NY Post coverage of the allegations [the investigation was closed in March 2017] surrounding Mayor de Blasio's fundraising - to be propagandistic. For nearly a year the NY Post appeared to publish out-of-context, one-sided, significant distortions of the events surrounding the Mayor. The unrelenting NY Post propagandistic accounts appeared to fall well outside of the guiding principles of American journalism.

Given Murdoch's prior history of election meddling around the globe [see Murdoch corruption or Fox propaganda], one might easily surmise that Murdoch's propagandist attacks on Mayor de Blasio are an attempt to discredit the Mayor in advance of the 2017 election. Thus, since April 2016, I started watching Fox News and their team of commentators - several of whom appear to be unabashed propagandists.

Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Janine Pirro top the list - but in Murdoch's media empire, these top performing masters of media distortion, are far from alone.

Fox & Hannity's Newspeak: Appears to Tell their Audience to Believe What they Say Now, & to Forget Everything they Said Previously

Fox 'News' Hannity is a good example of a Newspeaker, because he appears to conveniently forget or omit things that don't fit into many of his narratives, including things he himself has previously said.

Hannity appears to believe in the old adage that one should,

"never let the facts get in the way of a good story".

In Orwell's 1984 novel / film the rulers teach the people to forget the past, so that the people will believe anything that is told to them. To help this forgetting process along, the rulers change the narratives or prior reports of people and nations in the past.

The simplest example of removing subjects' memories in the film - removing statements of truth so-to-speak - was getting the subjects to believe that 2 + 2 = 5. If the ruling class says it's 5, then it's five - not four.

On Fox 'News' Hannity we see some striking parallels of such flip flops on 'truths'. In 2010 Hannity was calling for hacker Julian Assange to be imprisoned. But in January 2017, Hannity appeared to mostly forget that Assange hacked and stole government information. In 2017 Hannity even provided a public platform for Assange, interviewing the allegedly treasonous hacker; and by some accounts, treating Assange who is wanted for alleged sex crimes in Sweden, with kid gloves.

What changed? Perhaps Rupert Murdoch's Fox News talking points on the Assange narrative, which in 2017 appears to be promoting the notion that Donald Trump did not collude with the Russians to win the 2016 presidential election. The Fox propaganda network doesn't seem to want to wait for the law enforcement officials to complete their work, before pronouncing Trump innocent.

Is this a modern day Orwellian 1984, where we are asked to forget Fox 'News' and Hannity's prior narrative, and believe what they are telling us now?

Mega Multi-Millionaire Hannity Appears to be a War Promoter

I've been watching Hannity shows for about a half year now, and I find his hypocrisy nearly legendary. Hannity portrays himself as a working class guy, while he rakes in about $30 million per year and owns multiple multi-million dollar mansions / homes and flies around the country on private jets.

Oliver North and Sean Hannity founded a charity, Freedom Alliance [Concerts], for the families of veterans of the Iraq War - a war which Hannity and his Boss Murdoch promoted using the 'fake news' that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction [WMD].

Murdoch's Fox 'News' and Hannity's ongoing rhetoric calling for a war in Iraq appeared to enhance Fox ratings and revenue, seeming to benefit Hannity, O'Reilly and other members of the Murdoch propaganda network, while destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of others [I'm including the Iraqi civilians too].

Hannity's Freedom Concerts: A Self Promotion Venue?

Hannity has a Charity for Iraq Veterans' Children - some Believe it's Self Serving

According to Conservative blogger Debbie Schlussel and other reports, I began to get the impression that Hannity's charity is as much a funding source to promote and pay for Sean Hannity public relations efforts, as it is a vehicle to help the children of Iraq War veterans.

In a March 19, 2010 post, Schlussel reports that she received the following information from a contact at Fox.

"Hannity's Freedom Concerts [fund his] use of a Gulfstream 5 plane to fly [him around], a fleet of either Cadillac or Lincoln SUVs ... and several suites at really expensive hotels ..."

Schlussel goes on to question how much of the funds raised, actually go to the children of Iraq veterans.

More than Half the Proceeds go to the Programs

An April 2, 2010 Mother Jones report notes that the non-profit Charity Navigator downgraded the Freedom Alliance [concerts] to two stars following a complaint by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington[CREW]. The CREW complaint said that it was unclear how much money actually made it to veterans' children.

In a March 22, 2010 report by CNS News, a conservative site, reported Hannity's response to the above allegations as:

"The statement posted by the Freedom Alliance is 100% truthful and accurate. I have NOT taken a single penny from the Freedom Alliance or from concert sales EVER! I pay all the travel costs for my staff, family and me, and I have personally donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the FA and military charities."

In Charity Navigator's most recent rating dated March 1, 2017 for the fiscal year of 2015, the Freedom Alliance received a 78 rating and reports that about 57% of the charity proceeds go to the programs they deliver.

Orwell's message to us seems relevant to this conversation as in Homage to Catalonia, Orwell tells us that,

"One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting."

Click here to continue our exploration of Hannity & Murdoch's Fox 'News' propaganda using the warning signs lef to us in George Orwell's books, 1984 and Animal Farm.

We'll take a look into one of Murdoch's huge Australian tax breaks, one of Murdoch's fabulous Australian homes, Ted Koppel's claim that Murdoch's Fox 'News' Hannity is bad for America, how deregulation benefits the Murdochs versus the American working class, and how Murdoch's propaganda machine support for Trump - less than 100 days into the new Administration - already appears to be providing Murdoch and Fox 'News' with handsome returns.

Fox News Sean Hannity is Whose Voice?

Stock Market adds Trillions & Working Middle Class Gets What?

March 6, 2017 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Business & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Has Rupert Murdoch's Fox News mouthpiece, Sean Hannity, been pushing hard for tax reform because the Trump tax plan will be good for the working class people - one of which he appears to pretend to be? Or because the Trump Tax Plan will be good for mega multi-millionaires like Sean Hannity and mega multi-billionaires like Hannity's boss, Rupert Murdoch?

How Much a Phony is Fox News Sean Hannity?

Does he Pretend to be Working Class Guy ...

- So he can Dupe Fox News Viewers into Supporting a Tax Plan that Favors NOT them -

... but Mega-Millionaires like Him?

Hannity hasn't been a working class guy for in the neighborhod of two decades. In fact, according to Forbes in a 2015 survey Hannity is a very rich man. According to Zillow Hannity owns a palacial home on Long Island worth millions [see Zillow photo at right] and a second home located in a wealthy enclave in Naples, Florida.

Forbes published that Sean Hannity's earnings in 2015 were $29 million [see graphic at right]. So it's not implausible to guess that Hannity may have purchased the second home in Florida, so he could claim residency there in order to avoid NYS taxes, which Hannity has been publicly complaining about for years.

Which tax candidates and priorities do you think Sean Hannity is supporting - yours - or his own and Boss Murdochs?

Televangelist Hannity Preaches Gospel According to Murdoch

Fox News & Hannity Dictate Orders to Republicans ... Implied Threat is Suffer the Wrath of Murdoch's Propaganda Machine?

Hypocrisy & Half Truths on Hannity on Fox News Tonight?

I'm using Fox News propagandist Sean Hannity as an example of what appears to be the incredible hypocrisy and misleading information regarding Trump and the Trump tax plan, being provided by Murdoch's Fox News, one of America's largest TV networks.

It appears Hannity lures unwitting viewers into believing he's a working class guy - when he isn't - so his viewers will take his advice when he labels political candidates and public issues in childly simplistic terms of 'US' vs 'THEM' and 'GOOD' vs 'BAD'. Hannity seems to use small words and incessantly repeats himself, instructing his viewers like they are a bunch of five year-old kids who don't have the contextual experience nor even the infantile analytical skills required to think for themselves.

Fox and Hannity oftentimes appear to make no attempt to find and disseminate the truth on issues or government officials, but instead appear to propagandistically promote or punish those who do not bend to their will, as exemplified in the Business Insider headline to your right. The implicit message to Republicans appears to be obey us - or suffer the consequences of losing your elected government post - because our audience believes us and will do what we tell them to do.

Fox News Hannity's pugnacious rhetoric sounds kind of Nazi-like. This seems to be an indication that the FCC has granted and entrusted these people with way too much power - and that they appear to be corrupting it to serve their own selfish interests.

Click here to continue reading this report about Fox News propaganda & Hannity, O'Reilly propagandists on Fox News which is a lead into a report about how it appears they will profit handsomely from their propaganda services.

Brexit: Betrayal of Britain by a Billionaire Press Lord?

Is Murdoch about to Reap a $2.5 Billion Brexit Profit & Tighten his Grip on Britain?

January 30, 2017 / New York City / Murdoch Media Madness / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

I stumbled across a news item over the weekend, that led me back down the dirty trail of billionaire media mogul and global propagandist, Keith Rupert Murdoch.

Murdoch NYC Media - NY Post, Fox News, WSJ, WNYW TV & WWOR TV

I believe this is an important issue that is, or eventually will be, of great concern to our readers. The reason New Yorkers should be concerned is because Keith Rupert Murdoch controls the following NYC media: Fox TV Network, two local NYC TV stations – WNYW Channel 5 and WWOR Channel 9 - the Wall Street Journal and the NY Post.

Hence Murdoch has a dominant share of local NYC media and oftentimes appears to use it propagandistically to pick politicians who will help him enhance his corporate profits - oftentimes at the expense of the public.

Murdoch also controls some other American media properties including the National Geographic and book publisher, Harper Collins - but for the purposes of this report, these media outlets are less material.

Murdoch & Corruption? NY Post & Fox appear to be used as Propaganda Outlets

I began taking notice of Rupert Murdoch’s manipulative media methods in April 2016 when his NY Post started relentlessly slamming Mayor de Blasio on what at the time appeared to be based purely on allegations and innuendo. Murdoch's Fox News seemed to add to some of the media thrashing. In doing the first story where I recanted some of as Murdoch’s propagandistic methods, I found all sorts of other information that indicated that Media Mogul Murdoch might possibly be more corrupt than many of the politicians skewered by his tabloid print and broadcast outlets.

Was Brexit Used to Replace Cameron to Renew Sky TV Bid?

Around this same time as the NY Post was hazing Mayor de Blasio, the British referendum on whether to stay or exit the European Union [aka Brexit] was coming to a head. I couldn’t resist watching Murdoch’s manipulative media operations swing into action to sway that vote – as I hypothesized at the time – that he was using the referendum to discredit and replace British Prime Minister David Cameron. My theory was that Murdoch wanted to resume his aborted effort to acquire the rest of the British Sky TV satellite network that he didn’t already own, but Cameron was standing in the way.

The British Sky TV merger was aborted in July 2011 because Murdoch’s organization was caught illegally hacking thousands of people’s phones in Britain, in order to publicize their private lives, in the interest of macabre headlines and gossipy broadcasts.

Cameron’s Press Secretary, Coulson, a former Murdoch employee, was one of the people accused in the hacking scandal. And the office of the person appointed to oversee the Murdoch B Sky B merger, Jeremy Hunt, was found to have broken protocol by surreptitiously communicating with Murdoch’s organization through an intermediary during the regulatory oversight hearings.

Murdoch periodically publicly asserts that his political press patronage is not related to all the goodies he appears to collect shortly after his candidates win. But quite frankly, having done quite a lot of research, I find that close to impossible to believe after sifting through a four-decades-long pattern of highly beneficial circumtances that ended in Murdoch's favor. Click here to read our report on possible Murdoch corruption - featuring Newscorp, 20th Century Fox, Fox News, the NY Post and the Sun.

Murdoch, NOT A BRITISH CITIZEN, Controls Largest Concentration of Media in Britain

Keith Rupert Murdoch is NOT A BRITISH CITIZEN, and yet he controls two of Britain’s largest daily newspapers - the [London] Times and the Sun; and two of its largest weekend papers – the Sunday Times and the Sun on Sunday. Murdoch’s organization also holds a 39% share in Sky TV, which is Britain’s largest pay satellite TV provider, and has substantial mobile phone and internet service shares of the British market.

Today, nearly a year after the whole Brexit drama began, British Prime Minister David Cameron lost the Brexit vote and his job. And less than six months after the new Prime Minister, Theresa May, has taken office; Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has come back to fetch the rest of its prey. Murdoch re-opened the bid for the rest of Sky Broadcasting in early December of 2016. And Murdoch's organization reportedly may reap a $2.5 billion gain versus pre-Brexit economics.

Global Deceptions - Propaganda for Profit & the Bigger Billionaire Picture

I see Murdoch's role in the Brexit vote and current bid to acquire the rest of Sky to be very much related. What follows is a timeline along with some commentary to provide insights into what appear to be possible motives and the driving force behind the Brexit referendum. I hope this will help readers become more aware of the bigger picture - a global media billionaire, invisibly directing and stage managing events on a national and international scale, to get what he wants, regardless of the price the public must pay for it. I know this sounds harsh, but that is exactly what Hitler did and everyone - even Hitler's supporters - paid dearly for it.

Murdoch appears to be using his media outlets as propaganda-for-profit money machines. And he appears to hide in plain sight, behind his branded media curtains, while manipulating a kaleidoscope of menacing politicians and pathetic public policies, in order to further enrich and empower himself.

The laws of physics state that energy and matter are never lost, only transformed, and for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. These are laws that cannot be rewritten by Mr. Murdoch.

So with that happy thought, click here to read the rest of our report entitled - Was Brexit a Betrayal of Britain by a Billionaire Press Lord?

Proof of Murdoch's Fox News Propagandist Practices?

During July Conventions Murdoch's Fox News Treated Candidates like Polar Opposites - see Original Data Inside

November 3, 2016 / NYC Neighborhoods / Murdoch Fox News Propaganda & NY Post Fake News / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

1. POSITIVES:

Fox News Webcast 10 Times More for Trump than Clinton

During the Republican and Democratic Conventions in July 2016 I logged the headlines posted on the Fox News website at the top of the page.The news analysis study period begins Monday July 18, 2016 and runs through Thursday July 28, 2016.

The graphic at right shows the three areas of the Fox News website that I used for the analysis including 1) the top left box, which includes a number of top headlines, 2) the video boxes along the right side bar and 3) the three columns of stories just below the top box.

The following data which I included below contains the headline tabulations and the assignment of them to categories - so that you can judge for yourself how representative the numbers I am presenting are of Murdoch's Fox News treatment of the two candidates.

Essentially Murdoch's Fox News webcast 72 positive stories about Donald Trump versus 7 positive headlines about Hillary Clinton, during the July Republican and Democratic Conventions.

2. NEGATIVES:

Fox News Webcast 7 Times More for Clinton than Trump

Conversely Murdoch's Fox News webcast Donald Trump with 13 negative stories, while webcasting Hillary Clinton 95 negative stories. There were 32 neutral headlines regarding Hillary Clinton, and 14 neutral headlines regarding Donald Trump. This totals 233 headlines and there were another 113 that were unrelated to either candidate.

Murdoch History of Meddling in Democratic Elections

Rupert Murdoch appears to have a decades-long history of meddling in the elections of English speaking democracies around the world. Back in the 1960's he always had a tag line which he made sure to include in his interviews which is that he wanted "diversity in the media".

At best this interview tagline of his is insincere, as he owns over 60% of Australia newspapers, which is considered a monopoly share in our country, and he has controlling interest in Australian satellite television [see Wikipedia.org for details].

Promoting Politically Favored & Punishing the Opposition?

In the 1970's / 1980's Rupert Murdoch reportedly helped Margaret Thatcher win the Prime Minister position three times in Britain. And in her last campaign, he reportedly savaged the opposition which was leading in the polls until the end.

An American political science professor has studied the last of her victorious campaigns and it's worth repeating the lessons of it.

According to Professor James P. Allan who is a political scientist at Wittenberg University in Dublin, Ohio, Opposition Leader Neil Kinnock noted in his resignation speech in April 1992 the following,

“I make, and I seek, no excuses, and I express no bitterness, when I say that the Conservative-supporting press has enabled the Tory Party to win yet again when the Conservative Party could not have secured victory for itself on the basis of its record, its programme or its character.”

Professor Allan goes on to tell us,

"In both 1987 and 1992, the Labour Party again had to deal with an extremely hostile national press, which relentlessly attacked Labour and its Leaders often using dubious evidence and arithmetic to question Labour’s tax and spending plans. McKie cites several studies which suggest that the press had an influence on the outcome of the 1992 election, accounting for what appeared to be a late swing to the Conservatives.”

Or Hyping the Favoreds & 'Bludgeoning the Opposition"?

In the Australian election of 2013, Murdoch's media outlets reportedly bludgeoned the opposition. According to an August 27, 2013 report in Bloomberg,

"[Murdoch's organization in Sydney's Daily Telegraph has depicted] Labor leader Rudd ... as a bungling Nazi commandant, Kermit the Frog and a bank robber ... [and] whose front-page salvo on the first day of the campaign was “Kick This Mob Out.” Murdoch’s News Corp. is “taking a club to our government,” Rudd said
August 23 ... on at least 20 occasions he and his ministers have accused the company of bias in the 24 days since the September 7th poll was set."

"News Corp.’s “attacks these days are much more sledgehammer brutal and unscrupulous than before,” said John Menadue, the nation’s most senior civil servant from 1974 to 1976, who managed Murdoch’s Sydney operations
for the preceding seven years."

Fact or Fiction: Voldemort or VoldeMurdoch?

Murdoch's morphing of older, established, trusted media brands into propaganda outlets, was well depicted by J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter books. In the Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix, she captured in part what I feel I've been witnessing this year - how an audience slowly begins to realize that the information they are being served is crap. In the Harry Potter book the young wizards of Hogwarts School of Magic slowly come to the realization that the Daily Prophet - a centuries old, trusted, news source - has become insidiously corrupted by Lord Voldemort.

Click here to read the rest of our report on Rupert Murdoch's Fox News bias in covering the 2016 Republican & Democratic Conventions.

How Critical was Rupert Murdoch in Making Trump the Republican Nominee & in Keeping Trump in Contention for the Presidency?

Rupert Murdoch had Apartment in Trump Tower for Years

October 31, 2016 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

Is Rupert Murdoch using his Media Outlets as Propaganda Machines to Sway the Underinformed to Vote for His - NOT Their Own - Interests?

Multi-billionaire, Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch lived in Trump Towers for two to three years according to www.GuestofaGuest.com. During that time Murdoch's then-wife, Wendi Deng, became good friends with Trump's daughter Ivanka. In 2008, Deng reportedly helped Ivanka and her husband reconcile by inviting them to Rupert's yacht - without either of them knowing the other would be there.

It appears Wendi and Ivanka remain friends as they've been seen conversing together at numerous events in 2016 including while reportedly vacationing in Croatia. Thus it should come as no surprise that Rupert Murdoch heavily backed Trump's bid for the Republican nomination, telling Republican government officials and voters that they would be "Mad not to support him [Trump]".

In the photo at right Rupert Murdoch and Donald J. Trump are shown at one of Trump's golf courses. Murdoch who is not a British citizen supported the Brexit vote, which American military generals have said weakens NATO's standing vis a vis periodically hostile foreign nations like Putin's Russia. We'll have more on what the Brexit vote means for average Brits, a bit further down in this story.

Globetrotting Murdoch has Controlling Interest in Fox, NY Post & WSJ and Appears to have Few Loyalties

Rupert Murdoch has controlling interest in Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the NY Post, Barron's and the National Geographic along with numerous television stations and smaller newspapers.

Rupert Murdoch appears to have a long history of swaying voters to vote against their own interests by using propagandist techniques to manipulate them. Propagandist techniques include using half truths, hyping stories either favorable or unfavorable, and creating chaos while badgering other members of the press, politicians and the public into accepting well scripted narratives.

It appears the 2016 U.S. presidential election is no different, and quite possibly the Murdoch Manipulative Media Machine is on steroids this year.

Murdoch Appears to Use Media Outlets as Propaganda Machines by Controlling the Narrative in Britain and the U.S.

We've documented prior occurrences in Britain where Murdoch appears to use his media outlets to sway his audiences to vote for the billionaire media mogul's interests, by convincing his audiences that they are voting for their own.

In the graphic at right, Murdoch's Sun, the largest newspaper in Britain, publicly beats its Tarzan-like chest telling the British public that it was them - Murdoch's newspapers - that won the election for Thatcher. That would seem to confirm that Murdoch runs a political propaganda machine and that his audience should be wary of trusting Murdoch media outlets.

Murdoch's 'Media Coup d' Etat' in 2000 U.S. Presidential Election

During the 2000 presidential election the rest of the American press remained silent, as Murdoch's NY Post and Fox News changed the presidential election results narrative and headlines, by leveraging the chaos in Florida to overturn the electoral college vote outcome in the middle of the night. Sadly, the rest of the American media dumbfoundedly followed. To use an expression Fox commentator Newt Gingrich's spoke this year, it appeared to be a media coup d'etat.

In congressional testimony in 2001, Fox News Chief Roger Ailes apologized for Fox News calling Bush the victor in the presidential election in November of 2000. But while Ailes apologized, can one doubt that he knew full well that his news treatment of election results made a significant difference in the outcome? And did he know that his apology to the Congressional Committee wouldn't make any difference at all? Adolph Hitler said something to the effect that in war [or elections], it doesn't matter if you lie - only that you win - because if you win, then how much you lied won't matter.

Have Hitler & Goebbels, the Earliest & Most Successful Practicioners of Modern Propaganda, been Eclipsed by Rupert Murdoch's use of the Dark Arts?

Adolph Hitler is the father of modern media propaganda. Hitler and Goebbels used propaganda to convince the German people of many things that just plainly were not true. They did so by telling half truths, distorting events by sensationalizing allegations, and hyping innuendo against their opposition. Hitler and Goebbels also downplayed, distorted or distracted the public from their own failings, negatives and misdeeds.

To manipulate the public Hitler and Goebbels created their propaganda using half truths which they mixed in some factually correct stories, so that the distortions of the truth and outright lies wouldn't be so easily detected. Ultimately Hitler and Goebbels played upon the German people's prejudices and roused their emotions to stir them to do horrible things. This is the nature of propaganda, as by arousing emotions, while creating chaos and confusion, propagandists are able to get people to make decisions based on half truths and emotion - instead of making intelligent decisions based on a full gathering of all of the facts, and a thoughtful evaluation of them based on human REASON - AND FULL DISCLOSURE. In civilized societies we call this the truth.

I know discussions of Hitler tend to be unpleasant given the atrocities he committed. But given current day events, it is imperative that people understand how Hitler INSIDIOUSLY came to power, before he took the world into a war that cost 70 - 80 million people their lives. As the 20th century writer George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember [learn from] the past, are condemned [or doomed?] to repeat it"".

Murdoch Seems to use Media Outlets as Propaganda Machines for his Own Benefit

Murdoch reportedly called off Fox commentator Megyn Kelly, after she took Trump to task in one of the Republican primary debates. Fox commentator Bill O'Reilly is apparently a friend of Trump's [see photo at right] who has also provided Trump with an 'open mike' providing Trump with virtually unlimited access for near hour long infomercials, while unleashing a near incessant barrage of attacks on his opponent.

Roger Ailes, who stepped down as the Fox News Chief following multiple allegations of his sexual misconduct, has reportedly taken a role in an advisory capacity in the Trump campaign. Fox commentator Sean Hannity has been stridently advocating for the Trump campaign for over a year. Hannity is rumored to be positioning himself for a spot with a Trump Administration - should Trump win the presidency.

Previously we did a story about how Murdoch appears to have benefitted by backing high level politicians, who subsequently made changes to the legal framework governing media in Britain and the United States.

Record-Breaking, Unrecorded Campaign Contributions by Murdoch

Murdoch isn't required to report his payment-in-kind infomercial-like coverage of candidates he favors, nor provide fair access to Trump competitors [because the Fair Use Doctrine was repealed under what may have been Murdoch influence - click link above to see a story we did looking into that]. Nor is Murdoch limited in the free attack coverage he can provide for the Trump Campaign against their opponents - because Murdoch is able to use the First Amendment loophole to make what appear to be record-breaking, unrecorded campaign, advertising contributions. It used to be called PROPAGANDA.

Click here to read the rest of our report about how it appears Rupert Murdoch helped make Donald Trump the Republican presidential nominee and how Murdoch's propaganda outlets including Fox News, the NY Post and the Wall Street Journal appear to have kept Donald Trump in contention for the presidency.

Corruption? Is Rupert Murdoch Hacking our Democracy?

Has Rupert Murdoch's Organization been Trading Propaganda Services To Politicians in Exchange for Government Favors?

October 3, 2016 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, Murdoch's NY Post and even Murdoch's Wall Street Journal - appear to be used as a portfolio of propaganda publicity outlets to support Murdoch-favored politicians and Murdoch-favored public policies.

In this report we'll explore the possibility that Keith Rupert Murdoch's manipulative media machine is corrupting the public dialogue by disinforming and creating chaos in voters' minds, so that he can punish candidates by publicizing them out of office or publicity promote candidates into office. The photo at right shows a 1983 meeting between President Ronald Reagan and media mogul Keith Rupert Murdoch.

Decades of historical and recent coincidences, on three continents, and numerous administrations provide an entire body of circumstantial evidence that suggests Murdoch's organization has been methodically conducting behind-the-scenes deals with government officials to change media laws and regulations - affecting Murdoch's organization and the media industry - in Murdoch's favor.

In an October 16, 2006 story in the New Yorker, journalist and former Murdoch employee John Cassidy tells us,

"When I suggested to Murdoch that many people believe that his business interests dictate his politics, he reacted angrily. "Go ask Ed Koch if I ever asked him for anything," he said. "Go ask Margaret Thatcher. Go ask Tony Blair. Ask anyone if I ever asked for anything."

"Koch told me that Murdoch did once ask for something: during a newspaper strike in 1978, he requested, through an intermediary, that the Post's delivery trucks be allowed to use the city's parkways. Koch said yes. (He offered the city's other newspapers similar access.) The Thatcher government provided Murdoch with crucial police support when he fired hundreds of print-union workers, in 1986, and Blair relaxed the Labour Party's policy on media ownership."

Cassidy's listing of Murdoch favors from government officials appears to have only been the tip of the iceberg.

Is Murdoch Pulling Strings to Rewrite American Media Laws?

There have been a whole host of changes to American media laws since Rupert Murdoch arrived on our shores in the late 1970's.

The laws and regulations governing media that have been altered include: 1) media ownership by foreigners, 2) limits on local television stations ownership, 3) ownership of multiple media outlets in the same market [aka duopolies], and 4) media mergers and acquisitions. While I was generally unable to establish a legally verifiable quid pro quo, I did find an incredible number of what could only be described as 'interesting coincidences'. So interesting as to lead me to believe they might not be coincidences at all, including a recent series of events that appear to illustrate the theory that Keith Rupert Murdoch has played a highly influential role in making those changes.

Was Michigan Congressman Fred Upton's Request to Remove the 'Fairness Doctrine', done in Exchange for Favorable Murdoch Media & Cash?

In an April 27, 2012 story by ABC News, I found this report about Murdoch and his organization's political donations,

"Lately, a particular fundraising focus for Murdoch's American arm has been the Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan. The company has directed $35,500 to Upton's leadership committee, including a $2,500 check from Murdoch himself."

Less than a year earlier, on May 31, 2011 the EnergyCommerce.House.gov website reported that,

"House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) today sent a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission to remove the Fairness Doctrine rules from the Code of Federal Regulations."

""Further research has revealed that the political-editorial and personal-attack rules also remain intact despite the FCC's decision to repeal them. The media marketplace is more diverse and competitive today than it was ten years ago ... " [Editor's Note: This statement is not true - see facts a bit further below].

Murdoch's Fox News was tracking these events, and reported in a June 8, 2011 story headlined FCC Agrees to take "Fairness Doctrine off the Books",

""I [FCC's Genachowski] fully support deleting the Fairness Doctrine and related provisions from the Code of Federal Regulations," ... Genachowski wrote to Rep. Fred. Upton, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce."

"At the time [when the rules were instated in 1949], only 2,881 radio stations existed, compared with roughly 14,000 today."

FCC Chairman Genachowski failed to mention that while the number of stations has proliferated, the ownership of them has not. According to a Business Insider report [info source was FrugalDad.com - a higher education funding website] and also published in Wikipedia.org - the media outlets mentioned above are now owned by six corporations, down from 50 in 1983.

In the graphic at right is a Murdoch's tabloid NY Post roasting the Clintons about Quid Pro Quo. I superimposed Murdoch's face over the Clintons as it appears the pot may be calling the kettle black.

You Decide - Is Billionaire Media Mogul Keith Rupert Murdoch Guilty of Quid Pro Quo Corruption or are these an Amazing Series of Lucky Coincidences?

Read on to decide for yourself whether you think that billionaire media mogul Keith Rupert Murdoch and his organization, are guilty of many of the same sorts of quid pro quo malfeasance of which they so easily and frequently accuse politicians.

Click here to read the rest of our report - Is Rupert Murdoch Hacking Democracy & Quid Pro Quo Corruption?

NYC Rolls on After Small Bomb Explodes

Who are the Real Terrorists?

September 20, 2016 / NYC Neighborhoods / Murdoch Fox News NY Post Propaganda / News Analysis & Opinion / Manhattan Buzz.

Saturday evening, September 17th, at around 8.30 pm a bomb went off in a dumpster near 131 West 23rd Street [just off 6th Avenue] in Chelsea. While a number of people were injured by the debris [29 in total], thankfully nobody was killed, and all 29 of the people impacted have been released. The photo at right shows the scene were a small bomb exploded on Saturday evening in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo was quick to inform the public that the bombing was a terrorist act, but that it did not appear to be linked to international terrorism. Today, just three days later, it appears the bomber may have been influenced by a trip taken abroad.

At the time of Cuomo's announcement, he appeared to be continuing what seems like an ongoing effort to upstage the Mayor, by being the first to speak to the press and by sensationalizing the incident using words like terrorist [headline grabbing].

The Mayor was far more circumspect when he spoke, telling us only that based on the evidence gathered at the time, the act appeared to be intentional. The Mayor ended his remarks with that terse statement - telling us he would have more to say pending the receipt of additional information. NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill exercised the same caution in describing the event as the Mayor.

Is Murdoch's Media Org Hyping the Bombing for Ratings & Newspaper Sales Like They Appeared to do with the Iraq War?

Not surprisingly, Keith Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal, NY Post and Fox News noted / lauded or applauded the Governor for helping them in what appeared to be their ongoing efforts to sensationalize the terrible act.

Was their goal in hyping the bomb to sell more newspapers and increase their TV ratings? At first blush that's hard to believe - until you do the math.

In 2002 - 2003, Murdoch in tandem with his global media organization, strongly advocated on three continents [U.S., Britain and Australia] to start the War in Iraq. Ultimately, I believe the war increased Fox cable TV and Fox News ratings, which are worth billions of dollars annually. We'll have more on this a bit later in the story.

Do Bombers Seek Fame & Does Murdoch's Media Machine Provide Them with it?

Is Instant Fame a Bomber's Motivation? It seems plausible that part of the motivation of a bomber might be to make the headlines / be shown on TV / become famous, even if only for what artist Andy Warhol described as one's 15 minutes of fame. See NY Post graphic to your right, where the now famous bomber made the NY Post front page while lying in bed. Thank you Mr. Murdoch and your NY Post?

Achieving Goals By Fear Mongering? Rupert Murdoch's propaganda-oriented 'news' outlets may in fact be part of the problem - not part of the solution. Murdoch's organization appears hell bent on hyping the bombing event into an international terrorist attack, which one may surmise that they can then use to rekindle fears based on 15 year old memories, to shape the national security narrative leading up to the general election.

At a time when the whole world was in turmoil FDR told America,

"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."

How times have changed.

It seems Keith Rupert Murdoch's organization is saying something just the opposite, like,

"Be afraid. Be very afraid."

Never mind that nobody died in this incident or even reportedly sustained any serious injuries. And based on what is known, and what I saw, there appears to be very little SUBSTANTIAL property damage. But professional propagandists never let the facts get in the way of the story they want to tell, the perspective they want to sell, so this was an event I used to watch and learn from a media organization controlled by a man believed by many, to be the world's reigning propagandist.

People need to pay more attention to who they're going to listen to, to provide them with information and context about the world in which we live. The information sources they choose inevitably influence their view of the world, who they choose to represent them, what public policies they want pursued and how they go about conducting their lives.

The graphic at right is a quote from author of the book entitled 1984 - George Orwell - in his book Homage to Catalonia published in 1938. In it he said,

"One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting."

Pay Attention to the Changing Murdoch Media Narrative

Can the Real Terrorists be Found in Murdoch's Fear Mongering Media Empire?

Given that folks were out and about on Sunday, less than a day after the explosion, I began pondering whether it's media outlets like those owned by Keith Rupert Murdoch that are responsible for terrorizing the citizens of New York - and the nation - by continually repeating fear-inspired storylines / narratives?

It seemed the bomber had already failed to terrorize us in New York City, where the bomb exploded, given the fact that so many of us were out and about only hours later. In the photo at right are marchers in the Mexican Day Parade.

But Murdoch's manipulative media machine looks like it went into overdrive by broadcasting, webcasting and printing fear-inspired stories. Thus,perhaps the bomber may yet succeed in terrorizing us, with the help of Murdoch's media fear mongering machine.

Media Mogul Calculus: Terror or War = High Ratings Worth $$$ Billions &

Since Taxpayer Funds Most Production Costs of War / Show = Even Higher Profits

The Iraq War in 2003 was like fresh new free money, because Murdoch's organization could sell pricey TV ads for increased news ratings, while the bulk of the costs of staging the 'news programming' aka the Iraq War, was provided free to Murdoch's organization, compliments of the American, British and Australian taxpayers.

Based on the recent financial performance of Murdoch's organizations, his flailing media outlets appear to be in need of this sort of low cost [to Murdoch's media empire], high ratings programming.

Trillion(s) Spent on Iraq War Because of Phony, Media-Hyped, 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' Threat

In 2002 - 2003 Murdoch's organization appeared to use this same sort of hyping and sensationalizing of Sadam's 'weapons of mass destruction' to monger fear in America, Britain and Australia so the nations would go to war against Iraq.

Only later did we find out that there weren't, in fact, any weapons of mass destruction and that it was all media and political hype used to get us into the war. Once embroiled in the war, it cost well over a TRILLION DOLLARS, and by some accounts - we're still not completely out. In the graphic at right are just a few of the strident headlines published in Murdoch media.

Those Who do Not Learn from History are Doomed to Repeat it

In researching propaganda, I couldn't help but encounter propagandist works and statements made by propagandists Adolph Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. I recall as a youngster wondering how Hitler came to have so, so much power. Only now do I understand, as it appears Hitler accumulated his power insidiously, by conducting mass marketing campaigns of deception, disguised and packaged in with information, facts and news.

Does Fox Disinform - So Murdoch can Decide?

Fox viewers have been found not only to be less informed, but actually disinformed, on subjects ranging from healthcare, to science, to international affairs.

Media Matters informs us that studies to this effect have been conducted by Kaiser Health, Ohio State University researchers, Program on International Policy Attitudes, Stanford University and the National Science Foundation, University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes, Farleigh Dickinson University and an NBC / Wall Street Journal poll before Murdoch acquired the Wall Street Journal.

As you can see in the graphic at right, a poll which was included in a documentary entitled OutFoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, shows that Fox viewers tended to be more ill-informed than their PBS media peers.

You can click into the graphic which will take you to the video, but we reference and link to it again later in this story where we highlight a piece in the video that proves the point and is funny in a twisted Murdochian way.

Click here to view a prior piece we did on what appears to be Rupert Murdoch's assault on democracy which takes you deeper into what appears to be a long history of the billionaire media mogul's influence on electoral outcomes.

In June of 2016 Murdoch's media organization seemed to provide its readers / voters the same sort of bad advice with their advocacy in favor of Brexit or exiting the European Union. We'll have a bit more on this later.

Click here to read the rest of our report about what appears to be Rupert Murdoch's manipulative use of his media assets.

Who's Behind NY Post's Media Hazing of Mayor?

Will Billionaire Rupert Murdoch Profit from NY POST's Attack Stories?

Updated May 13, 2016 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

The NY Post's incredible barrage of attack stories on NYC Mayor de Blasio this past month led us to believe that something was amiss.

Is the NY Post Disinforming the Public?

After a month of a barrage of negative attack (ads?) stories regarding the Mayor's campaign funding, someone reading the NY Post might come away believing that Mayor de Blasio had already been convicted of numerous counts of breaking the law. As you will see later in this story, this would not be the first time the Murdoch organization's audience was not uninformed - but rather disinformed.

That said, if they read a newspaper that generally conforms to the professional standards of American journalism, like the New York Times, they would know that,

"It is not clear how direct a role, if any, the mayor played in some of these matters." - NYT April 29, 2016

Infomercials Presented as News?

Given that some of what Murdoch's organization [includes NY Post, Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and hundred(s) more properties] publishes and broadcasts appears to make significant departures from the American professional standards of journalism - one has to wonder if Murdoch's organization hasn't found a way to skirt campaign finance laws - as some of their 'news reporting' looks more like long-winded political infomercials.

Just Because They Say it's So, Doesn't Mean it's So

The NYS Board of Elections says,

"Independent Expenditures Do Not Include Expenditures in Connection with... A written news story, commentary, or editorial or a news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, cable or satellite, unless such publication or facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, political committee or candidate ..."

Has Murdoch's organization found a way to skirt campaign finance laws by making huge, undisclosed, payment-in-kind, independent media expenditures to support or attack political candidates and push an issue agenda by running infomercials as news stories?

Does this practice enable the Murdoch organization to become the STRING PULLER, who makes their candidates POLITICAL PUPPETS?

Rupert's NY Post Goes After Mayor like Rabid Dog

There were 80 stories published about the Mayor by Billionaire Media Mogul Keith Rupert Murdoch's NY Post in the first 24 days of April.

That's more than three stories per day - and not a single one was positive [a few were neutral]. The stories were authored by 20 reporters, some of whom shared the bylines. This is the equivalent of having the entire editorial staff of a medium-sized daily newspaper, working full time on publishing stories about just one government official.

I'm pretty sure that the Washington Post didn't dedicate this kind of resource to covering the Nixon Watergate scandal in the early 1970's. It seems like overkill, which is generally indicative that something is not right.

I say not right because it has been my experience that this kind of overzealous attack oftentimes reflects more upon the prosecutor than the prosecuted.

Abusive, Power-Hungry Media Moguls in Film - 1941 & 1997

What I found while working on this story had some parallels to the 1997 James Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies. In the movie, Eliot Carver is the Media Mogul, and he uses his presses and TV stations to hype a war between China and Britain. In 2002 the NYT did a piece which they entitled 'Mr. Murdoch's War' which was about Murdoch's urging the U.S. and Britain to go to war in Iraq, which we'll have more about later in this story.

During my research a character profile of Billionaire Murdoch began to emerge that was something right out of the film Citizen Kane, who was portrayed by Orson Welles in 1941. It's interesting to note that 1941 was the same year that the FCC capped TV media ownership by a single person / entity at 35%. And this FCC ownership limit was overturned, some say because of Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch, and this will also be covered in more detail a bit later in this story.

The image to your right shows a page out of The Guardian, one of Britain's most respected newspapers, about the culture of Billionaire Media Mogul Keith Rupert Murdoch's organization.

Consider The Source

I. Criminal Acts: Murdoch Declared 'Unfit'

In 2012, only four short years ago, Billionaire Media Mogul Keith Rupert Murdoch was declared "Not a Fit Person" to lead his company by a British public official who led a commission that investigated the criminal operations conducted by people working for Billionaire Mogul Murdoch's media empire.

Murdoch's Hires Convicted of Bribery & Hacking Crimes (911 Victims)

For alleged crimes committed over the course of years within roughly the first decade of the 21st century, British authorities arrested and / or convicted dozens of people working for Murdoch's organization.

The crimes they were convicted of, alleged to have committed, or were arrested for - included bribing government and law enforcement officials, and hacking the phones of relatives of murder victims, the relatives of soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq, relatives of the victims of the London terrorist attacks, relatives of 911 victims, a four year old's cystic fibrosis medical records, and the mother of a slain daughter.

It appears Murdoch's organization did this to build viewership for his media outlets. Investigation into the 911 allegations were dropped by the FBI, but reportedly to the dissatisfaction and without the consent of some of those believed to be affected.

II. Coincidental Events or Propaganda For Profit?

NewsCorp Influence on Elections Followed by Favorable Gov't Rulings

We found three examples of Murdoch's news organization appearing to meddle with electoral outcomes by using their media assets as a propaganda machine, rather than as a news organization.

1. Fox News Role in 2000 Election of Bush

Followed by Bush FCC Expanding TV Ownership Limits

In 2000, Fox News declared Bush the victor of the election around 2.30 am, the morning after the election. Later than morning, in New York City the media capital of the nation, an Election Extra morning edition of the NY Post hit the newsstands announcing Bush's victory in a definitive manner. This came after all four [including Fox] of the American TV networks had already declared Al Gore the probable winner on election night. A confused NYT headline appeared to follow Murdoch's Fox News and NY Post definitive announcement by declaring that Bush 'appeared to defeat Gore'.

In less than three years the Bush Administration's FCC rolled back limits on ownership of TV station coverage in the nation, which enabled Billionaire Murdoch's Fox Television to expand its TV station coverage, thus giving Murdoch's Fox network a competitive advantage. Coincidence, or does the NY Post headline below apply to Murdoch here?

2. Murdoch's Support of Cameron for British Prime Minister

Followed by Cameron's Gov't Presiding over Regulatory Approval Process of Murdoch Deal

In 2009 as the Murdoch's were reported to be contemplating making a bid for the shares of British Sky Broadcasting [aka B Sky B] that they didn't already own, David Cameron was contemplating a run for Britain's Prime Minister.

That summer a Cameron aide was reported to have spent five days visiting the Murdoch's news organization in New York. Following the visit, Murdoch began supporting Cameron's bid for Prime Minister [he won]. Roughly around the same time, Murdoch made a bid for B Sky B. The completion of the B Sky B acquisition was within a month of regulatory approval, but halted, because of 'near industrial scale' phone hacking scandal and news reports of bribes which were alleged to implicate Murdoch's news organization in 2011.

3. NY Post Endorses Cuomo for Governor

Followed by Murdoch NO-BID Deal Negotiations with New York State

In 2010 Murdoch's NY Post endorsed Andrew Cuomo's bid for NYS governor. In August 2011, a Murdoch company was about to be awarded a no-bid contract to track students' performance by the State of New York.

But the deal was halted because of the serious criminal charges of phone hacking by Murdoch's organization, as well as allegations regarding his organization's bribes of police and government officals.

This third coincidence leads us to consider the possibility of a possible NYC or NYS profit motive behind Murdoch's NY Post's barrage of attack stories on Mayor de Blasio.

III. Murdoch Organization & Disinformation

Murdoch's NY Post Hazing of Mayor: Propaganda for Profit?

In the story that follows you'll find some additional source material, including a book about Murdoch sold by British Amazon.com.

We make comparisons of Murdoch to William Randolph Hearst who reportedly told one of his newsmen - "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war." Some believe Murdoch's role in stridently urging the English-speaking world into the Iraq war was for ratings.

We provide accounts of details about the criminal acts done by hires for Murdoch's organization.

We provide the names of the seven independent organizations which conducted studies showing that frequent viewers of Fox News appear to be disinformed.

And lastly, we conclude with a cursory look - because it's mostly allegations and innuendo - at the NY Post incessant barrage of attack stories of Mayor de Blasio.

Suggestion for New NY Post / WSJ / 21st Century Fox News Slogan: 'We Decide by Disinforming You.'

Fox News has used the slogan, 'We Report. You Decide.' But after doing the research for this story I wondered if the slogan in the headline above, 'We Decide by Disinforming You.' might be a better fit.

As mentioned above, seven studies, by independent and respected institutions, found that frequent viewers of Fox News are more likely to be disinformed about key issues of the day than other segments of the public. We'll have more on this later.

TV, Newspaper & PC Smoke Screens?

Is Billionaire Media Mogul Keith Rupert Murdoch using propaganda to enhance his organization's profit - OR is this all just an unusual series of coincidences?

You can judge for yourself whether you think Murdoch is running his media empire as a credible, contextual, balanced news reporting organization - OR - as an organization with a history of connections to criminal acts, and a propaganda-for-profit machine running near full capacity to topple the NYC Mayor.

Let's take a closer look into the facts behind our investigation into whether Billionaire Media Mogul Keith Rupert Murdoch is making efforts to media haze the NYC Mayor by using the NY Post as a propaganda tool.

Is Murdoch's Org Skirting Campaign Finance Laws?

Are They Disguising Advocacy & Attack Infomercials as News Reports to Skirt Campaign Finance Laws?

At the end of this report we question whether the Murdoch organization is passing off what appears to be its frequent, one-sided, unbalanced, propaganda-like reports - or what some might call advocacy or attack infomercials - as news reports to skirt campaign finance laws.

Click Link & Scroll down for rest of story & Video

Murdoch's NY Post appears to be used as propaganda machine working to oust the NYC Mayor

On the Campaign Trail & 'Feeling the Bern'

Sanders Introduces Democratic Socialism to the American People

Updated April 19, 2016 from 4/15/16 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

If nothing else, this has been an interesting presidential election cycle. It's not 'reality TV', its televised reality.

Making America Great ... again?

The Republicans attracted most of the attention early on, thanks mostly to Donald J. Trump's shock jock presidential candidacy. A candidacy that turned presidential debates about public policy into name calling, discussions of poll numbers & penis size, and relentless barrages of vituperative insults.

The Donald has, in his campaign, essentially told us to forgeddabout the ballooning government deficit, a dated and at times crumbling infrastructure, fixing our public education system, helping the shrinking middle class and addressing global climate change.

The Donald has distracted us from an intelligent discussion about these 'loser' subjects, and told us that he's going to rip 12 million people [the equivalent of about 5% of the nation's population] away from their families by deporting them, punishing women for getting abortions, and erecting a wall along the border with Mexico which he tells us the Mexicans are going to pay for.

Does Trump really think this is how to 'make America great ... again'?

Trump Candidacy Increases Ratings Which Translates to Profits

Trump may not make America great again, but he's been good for corporate-owned, network television ratings. The Hollywood Reporter quotes CBS Chairman, Leslie Moonves telling a Morgan Stanley conference in San Francisco on February 29th, 2016 that,

"The money's rolling in and this is fun ... this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going."

While Sanders Delivers Substance & Expands Public Debate

So while Donald Trump has been filling the pockets of corporate-owned mass media, Bernie Sanders - the man with the real story - has largely been ignored. Ignored by the mass media, but embraced by the social media and a signficant and growing segment of the American populace. In fact Sanders, during the past week of campaigning in New York, attracted crowds of tens of thousands, while the other candidates on both sides of the ticket did not.

Click here to see photos of the Bernie Sanders campaign 2016 in NYC & LIC Queens, as well as a story about the contest between Sanders and Clinton.