Lost in America's
Feeding Tube Frenzy© have been other stories of note, some of which I have compiled here with brief comments.
First, there was this piece of good news regarding the media megalith that is Clear Channel Communications:
Clear Channel Loses Case With Rival
A federal jury in Chicago ruled yesterday that the entertainment giant Clear Channel Communications had competed unfairly in fighting to win back a contract to hold Supercross motorcycle races and awarded a smaller Chicago promoter $90 million in damages.
The jury of nine women and one man also found that Clear Channel was not liable in the most serious claim of antitrust behavior. But the case represented the first time that a company had made such claims against Clear Channel, which dominates radio and live-entertainment promotion, to a jury.
(more)
"I don't mind competing with anybody, but when I compete, I don't take a bat to someone's knees to try to cripple them," said Jerry Mickelson, co-owner of Jam Productions, which brought the suit against Clear Channel. "I'm glad I was able to follow this lawsuit through.
It was important that someone did it."
(...)
Some analysts suggested that the case would invite closer scrutiny of the company's conduct, and potentially more litigation from competitors. "This ruling is a serious threat to Clear Channel," said Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access Project, a law firm that represents noncommercial broadcasters and consumer-advocacy clients, in part "for the incentives it provides to other plaintiffs and lawyers to pursue them."
"There's a little bit of blood in the water," Mr. Schwartzman added.
Clear Channel is a monster that needs serious taming. And the FCC, under Bush, is unlikely to to make any efforts to rein in media monopolies. So kudos to Jerry Mickelson and JAM (an old-time Chicago promoter, primarily of music shows) for holding this giant's feet to the fire. This is a real "David and Goliath" story. Let's hope more suits follow from other competitors who have been stomped under foot.
In onther news, our post-9/11 borders are no more secure than they were before the attack.
U.S. Undocumented Immigrant Numbers Surge
The tightening of homeland security since 2001 has not stemmed undocumented immigration into the United States, with a report released Monday showing
the number of illegal immigrants growing by roughly 485,000 people a year.
An analysis of government data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a private research group in Washington, showed an estimated 10.3 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States last year, an increase of about 23 percent from 8.4 million in 2000.
And The New York Times follows up that AP story with an eye-opener this morning:
At Mexican Border, Tunnels, Vile River, Rusty Fence
When United States Customs officials discovered the latest tunnel under the border here last month, they were stunned. With a cement floor and an intercom system, the passage ran nearly 200 yards from a house on one side of a rusty metal fence, under two streets and an apartment complex, to emerge in an unassuming tract home in California.
Though more elaborate, the tunnel is not unlike the 13 others found during the 1990's, built by drug cartels. But everything in the world after Sept. 11, 2001, has taken on a different hue. Today such tunnels are where the failures of drug policy, border control and immigration reform meet ever pressing issues of national security. American officials fear the tunnels could be used just as easily to smuggle terrorists and explosives as cocaine or illegal immigrants.
(...)
Meanwhile, the alarms have been sounding in Washington about the dangers post-9/11 of a porous, 2,000-mile-long border. James Loy, the deputy secretary for Homeland Security, said last month that intelligence reports showed that terrorists from Al Qaeda were likely to try to enter the country from Mexico, across whose border at least 300,000 people flow every year virtually untraced and with impunity.
Porter J. Goss, the director of central intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week that the United States was vulnerable to terrorists infiltrating through its backyard.
While we're pissing away $5 billion a month in Iraq, Bush continues to ignore threats at home that even his own, partisan puppets like Porter Goss suggest will lead to attacks that are sure to come.
The Bush administration attitude towards the next terrorist attack appears to be, "We'll know it when we see it."
Finally, this gem is guaranteed to generate a sardonic laugh. Seems we can't even get the voting process right on American Idol:
'Idol' error earns contestants revote
The 11 contestants left on Fox's reality hit "American Idol" are getting another shot at stardom.
Phone numbers that allowed viewers to pick their favorite contestant were incorrectly displayed during Tuesday's show, prompting a re-vote during the show scheduled to air Wednesday, the network said in a statement.
Anyone know the whereabouts of Kenneth Blackwell Tuesday evening? I think he needs to be hauled in for questioning.
Add your own "uncovered" stories here...