International

Their Master's Voice

"You have got to admit that Rupert Murdoch is one canny press tycoon because he has an unerring ability to choose editors across the world who think just like him," writes Roy Greenslade. "How else can we explain the extraordinary unity of thought in his newspaper empire about the need to make war on Iraq?" Murdoch publishes 40 million papers a week and dominates the newspaper markets in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and none "has dared to croon the anti-war tune.

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U.S. Fanzine for Young Arabs

The latest plan from U.S. State Department propagandist Charlotte Beers is a "consumer lifestyle" magazine to be published in Arabic. The magazine "will avoid politics and instead focus on topics of common interest to American and Arab cultures, including education, careers, family, technology, music and health. ... The magazine, according to a State Department official, is meant to foster dialogue with young Arabs and dispel some of the 'misperceptions' they may have about the United States.

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Anti-Chavez All The Time

As the so-called general strike against Venezuelean President Hugo Chavez comes to an end, Venezuelan television will begin broadcasting advertising again. For the two months of the strike, "the only commercials on Venezuelan TV were the opposition's relentless barrage of powerful and often witty

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Downing Street's Deceit

"Downing Street was last night plunged into acute international embarrassment after it emerged that large parts of the British government's latest dossier on Iraq - allegedly based on 'intelligence material' - were taken from published academic articles, some of them several years old," the Guardian writes.

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WHO "Infiltrated by Food Industry"

According to a confidential report prepared by a consultant to the World Health Organization, the food industry has followed the example of the tobacco industry, infiltrating the WHO and exerting "undue influence" over policies intended to safeguard public health by limiting the amount of fat, sugar and salt we consume. "The easy movement of experts - toxicologists in particular - between private firms, universities, tobacco and food industries and international agencies creates the conditions for conflict of interest," says the report by Norbert Hirschhorn.

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State Department Requests Funding For Middle East TV Network

"The budget request for the State Department for 2004 reflects the changing foreign policy priorities of an administration set on winning the global war on terrorism and the hearts and minds of the countries where terrorists recruit," UPI's Eli J. Lake writes. "It includes $30 million to launch the Middle East Television Network, an Arabic language satellite station. Also, the budget will double funding for the Voice of America's Indonesia channel. ... Big losers in the budget include both big and small programs.

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Downward Career Trajectory

Tim Blackstone, who left his career as a porn star to become a financial journalist before finally stooping to public relations, has been fined for insider trading. A British court found him guilty of buying and selling shares worth more than £13,000 based on insider knowledge of top secret takeover plans being hatched by a company to which he was a PR adviser.

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