Above is a clip from last night's already legendary Jon Stewart interview with Jim Cramer. Unfortunately they cut if off right at the emotional climax of the show, you have to watch part 3 on the interview to get the pay off.
This morning on the Diane Rehm Show Andrew Sullivan, Jeanne Cummings, a reporter from Politico, and John Dickerson, chief political correspondent for Slate.com, discussed the interview. Sullivan called it a "cultural watershed." Cummings called it a "remarkable exchange." Sullivan related it to the social forces being unleashed by the current economic depression which he summed as – people are sick of the games. He said this interview represented a "storming of the Bastille." The economic bubble bursting has led people to reexamine their priorities and beliefs with a critical eye. When it comes to the economy people are sick of the "fake economy" touted on networks like CNBC, because they know the real economy in their own lives. People now know the games that are being played in the backrooms and want them to stop. Stewart hammered this point home and took Cramer to task.
The commentators moved on to talk about how these social forces are also being felt in other arenas as well. Dickerson compared Stewart's critique of economic journalism with journalism's broader loss of credibility as exemplified by the lead up to the Iraq war. And then Sullivan brought it back to the week's big story (at least around here): Chas Freeman. Freeman was again business as usual – but the difference this time was that blogs brought it out in the open. In the same way Stewart, not CNBC or Bloomberg, was willing to say what everyone was thinking about the economy, it was the non-mainstream media that fought the Freeman fight. The Times and Post only picked it up after the fact.
This has led me to wonder – has the bubble also burst on the Israel lobby? Will the visceral anger that Stewart showed Cramer soon be turned on US foreign policy in a grand Howard Beale moment? The commentators on Rehm's show said that when it comes to Israel (like the economy) the major media is too close to the game. The real coverage of Israel/Palestine is going to have to come from elsewhere.
Freeman was just an inkling of this, not a full "Cramer-esque" take down, but signs of a gathering storm. Like the economy, the back room games of how US foreign policy is crafted is increasingly out in the light. Many have already commented how Freeman is a net loss for the lobby because the fight was in the public. AIPAC's own reluctance to be publicly associated with the anti-Freeman campaign is because they realize that their games only work behind closed doors. They know that once their goals and influence are exposed it's only a matter of time before people will "want their heads."
"AIPAC's own reluctance to be publicly associated with the anti-Freeman campaign is because they realize that their games only work behind closed doors."
Very perceptive. Here are the factors that keep things behind closed doors:
1. Money.
2. Organizational capacity.
3. Willingness to break the law if the stakes are high enough.
4. Regulatory capture.
5. Unwillingness on the part of the government to release classified docs on what's going/gone on.
6. Capture of elite media.
7. Public ignorance/apathy/disinterest.
The main threat to this self perpetuating system is the Internet. Which is too bad since it's probably not enough.
I repeat, what good does it do if undue pressure put upon our officialdom by The Lobby is merely out in the open a bit more if there still aren't any different reasons for our officialdom to resist that undue pressure?
The pressure on Freeman and Blair and Obama came out into the open before the denoument occurred there. What difference did that make? Freeman still withdrew and was allowed to withdraw without a helluva fight and without Blair resigning too.
Obama should be called more than a wimp and people ought to be savaging Blair and calling for him to resign. Provide an example for the next Obama and Blair that there there is at least *some* downside to doing the wrong thing.
Thanks, Adam! I was just trying to post this comparison on another thread.
If the real target of the AIPAC attack on Freeman, and the debacle Of Obama's collapse, was to scuttle rapprochement with Iran, the campaign has begun.
Compare Chris Matthews's hapless permission for Frank Gaffney to beat the drums for an attack on Iran last night, to Jon Stewart's brilliant expose of Jim Cramer later in the evening. But Stewart, unlike Matthews, does real research–that is, journalism [at least with Santelli and CNBC] and Matthews just spits out saliva.
[I haven't heard Matthews, Olbermann, or Maddow take on the Likud Lobby and Dan Abrams used to defend it. Olbermann has also defended the ADL and Foxman against Lou Dobbs. MSNBC knows that the public is fed up with Bush-Co, but don't take the next step of criticizing the Israeli government.]
Matthews v. Gaffney
link to newsbusters.org
Stewart v. Cramer
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220534&title=intro-brawl-street-get-ready-to
[The Huffpo first broadcast those 2006 clips of Cramer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/11/jim-cramer-shorting-stock_n_173824.html]
For how the actual aim of AIPAC's attack on Freeman was preventing Obama's negotiation with Iran, see:
http://www.counterpunch.org/lee03132009.html
Peter Lee, "AIPAC Takes Another Scalp
What the Chas Freeman Fight Was Really About
The real significance of the fight against Freeman takes us away from the traditional need to affirm the right of Israel to exist, enjoy America’s commitment to its continued survival, and consume its yearly entitlement from the U.S. budget. It has everything to do with trying to disrupt Obama’s initiative to engage with Iran — an initiative that has the active encouragement of Russia, probably tacit support from China, and the active interest of Iran itself.
Iran has an interesting battery of carrots to offer the United States. Beyond helping keep the lid on in Iraq by moderating the behavior of the majority Sh’ia against the Sunni, an active Iranian role in Afghanistan could do the United States a world of good, especially in opening some kind of second front against the Taliban in the opium heartland of western Afghanistan and providing an alternative to the risky Pakistan route for U.S. and NATO supplies into Afghanistan.
But rapprochement with Iran is anathema to the Israeli government, since it would replace the current situation—where it is assumed that the interests of Tel Aviv and Washington are identical and, if there is a conflict, Israeli priorities should prevail because it has the most at stake — to a more complicated arrangement in which Israel’s position might be downgraded to that of just another stakeholder, whose interests might be compromised by Washington for the sake of its geopolitical objectives and bilateral dealings with Iran."
Let's see. Stewart does a hatchet job on Cramer which only results in better ratings for MSNBC. Why is everything else in the world – like the financial crisis – a paradigm for the Israelis? And if it is a paradigm, maybe it's that the MSM only focuses on the Israeli/Palestinian crisis when Israel responds to numerous terrorist events with big guns, but backpages it when the Palestinians cause daily havoc in Sderot and elsewhere in Israel and bury it when Muslim leaders use vile and disgusting racist language to talk about Jews and their destruction.
By the way, Stewart may pretend he does comedy, but his is as much of a news show as any entertainment news on CSNBC, Fox and CNN. Why doesn't Stewart have some responsibility? If he's going to act all serious about Cramer, a guy who yells, screams, rings bells, and throws bulls and bears, why doesn't he take some responsibility for his own reporting. He's becoming sanctimonious and unfunny. He gets paid like the big boys of news and probably has a bigger staff – let him do some financial reporting and see how it goes.
Actually, Hr. Fenton, Jane Hamsher has a great essay today showing that Jim Cramer tried to intimidate Andrew Cuomo from investigating WaMu, by calling Cuomo a "Communist" when he was looking into Washington Mutual's shenanigans.
http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/13/sorry-jim-cramer-you-didnt-try/#more-38003
'For a reality check let's look at Cramer from November 2007:
Anyone not familiar with what happened when the curtain was pulled back from WaMu and their lending practices can catch up here, but CEO Kerry Killinger pulled down $88 million from 2001 to 2007 by churning out loans to the riskiest borrowers with high fees attached. The money quickly went out the door to the bank's executives. Employees described it as a "sweatshop": "garbage in, garbage out."
At the time, Cuomo had filed a lawsuit against real estate apraisal firm First American, claiming they had inflated their real estate appraisals due to pressure from Washington Mutual. He had emails to prove it. WaMu's stock prices tumbled. This led Cramer to rail against Cuomo for being a "communist:"
“[W]itness the fact that right now, the most important man in America for the stock market – the most important man and I mean it negatively is this guy Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Attorney General,” Cramer said. “I’m getting tired of the New York State Attorney General being the most important man in America.”
Cramer compared Cuomo to his politicized predecessor Eliot Spitzer. “Cuomo’s about confiscation – genuine communist,” Cramer said. “The Chinese are capitalists, we got a communist.”
Andrew Cuomo did not mislead Jim Cramer. He didn't lie to him. Cramer had no interest in the facts–he was trying to use a very high profile forum to intimidate Cuomo, and keep him from looking into Washington Mutual. He didn't "try hard," and his crime wasn't a belief that the market would continue to go up–he acted like a thug to actively discourage any investigation that could threaten the perpetuation of a huge ponzi scheme.
Cramer certainly wasn't the only one. But his defense, such as it is, attempts to obscure the fact that, like Marty Peretz, he believed his objective was sacrosanct, which justified its advancement by any means.
Peretz was recently able to buy back TNR from parent company Canwest–which is on the verge of bankruptcy–assisted, no doubt, by a personal fortune that Cramer helped him amass.
And the beat goes on.'
U.S. citizens critically hurt at West Bank protest
link to haaretz.com
Hey, I might have to agree that it's a stretch to link the Israeli Lobby's agita with the visceral anger of Main Street citizens against Wall Street (as exemplified in last night's super-hyped Stewart-Cramer smackdown). Main Street is feeling the excesses of Wall Street right in the pocketbook and has a practical impact of it (while bailing out these firms with their tax dollars).
The issue with the Middle East is that it's really an East Coast/West Coast/Beltway phenomenon. Yes, AIPAC is siphoning off hundreds of billions of my tax dollars in a recession thanks to the complicity of my elected officials, but until 60 MINUTES makes something of it, there won't be a Howard Beale moment. Remember, Howard Beale reached everyone through the evening news. The blogosphere is still no match for the pablum served up on AIPAC-controlled network TV.
Dom just posted an interesting bit. This American kid protesting in the West Bank is on life support after being attacked on the West Bank by the IDF. Now there's an American face on the crisis is Gaza, an American student who had the courage to protest the pogrom on Palestinians, viciously attacked by the Israeli army.
Will the MSM grow some cojones and report this, or are we still in Rachel Corrie mode with our "free press"?
Susie Kneedler – Re MSNBC:
It is a sad testimony to the state of the media when neither Olderman, nor rachel maddow touch much on the freeman affair – one with a potentially riotous irony – given that an INDICTED spy for israel is unleashed as the go-to person in a campaign to taint an appointee with the "dubious loyalty" label.
I'll believe that the ground is really moving when i see at least Rachel tackling this kind of issue with the same derision she reserves for side shows like Steele, palin and the like. As it stands, both shows risk drowning in trite – even as the world keeps turning making a fine display of trickle up economics in action. I feel a bit sad though for Rachel as there is some evidence to believe she is chaffing under MSNBC's restrictions – and not just concerning THE lobby but a few other entrenched interests as well – like the behavior of the media.
Has the Bubble Burst on the Lobby?
Nope.
You have two choices for taking out the US Israelis. One would be hiring Blackwater to execute all the US zionist and their organizations,totally wipe them out. Fast efficient and quick.
Second choice would be assassinating the press executives of all major outlets and replace them so you could get out the facts about Israel to the American public whereupon they would then burn Washington's Capitol Hill to the ground for their treason. Slighty messier but ultimately as effective.
Why so drastic? Because DC doesn't give a damn what Americans think, want or say. We are absolutely nothing to them until the next election where we have only two choices…. the corrupt dems or the corrupt repubs…both bought and paid for by AIPAC and Jewish campaign money. Don't kid yourselves, politicans are never going to take money out of politics…it's too easy for them to just rely on those big special intrest donors.
You will never get rid of Israel unless you get personal and I don't mean personal between the "Zionist and Jews and 'Americans'…I mean making it personal to people in their pockets, jobs,money,opportunities. The Iran war isn't here yet so your average Joe Blow isn't worrying about that yet. You have to hit all the bases on Israel…and all the bases on their political and congressionl partners who are harming Joe Lunchbox.
So assess your choices acording to how long you think you have till the US blows.
If you made a list of all the thousand and one ways Israel and it's agents in our country and governemnt have hurt Americans it would stretch across the Atlantic.
Let me give one example out of thousands of examples of Israeli agents,including appointed Jewish officals and bought gentile officials in our government agencies at work for Israel in our government that never get noticed by the general public:
——————————————————————————————————
"Documents reveal AIPAC trade secrets leak leading to $71 billion export loss"
Newly released Freedom of Information Act documents reveal details of trade secrets leaked during negotiations of America’s first trade agreement with Israel.
Wall Street Journal – MarketWatch | Feb. 23, 2009
Documents Reveal AIPAC Trade Secrets Leak Leading to $71 Billion Export Loss
WASHINGTON, Feb 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ — Newly released Freedom of Information Act documents reveal details of trade secrets leaked during negotiations of America’s first trade agreement:
In 1983 the Israeli Prime Minister and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbied the Reagan administration for preferential access to the US market. The US Trade Representative (USTR) commissioned the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to conduct an investigation to advise the President about the probable economic effect of providing duty free entry of Israeli imports on January 31, 1984.
The ITC compiled "business confidential" information and intellectual property solicited from US corporations and industry associations into a classified report for the negotiations.
But on August 3, 1984 the Washington Post broke the news that the FBI was investigating how AIPAC obtained one of the fifteen numbered and tightly controlled copies of the classified report. The ITC later confirmed it was also obtained by the Israeli government.
Since this agreement was signed in 1985, US trade with Israel shifted from surplus to a cumulative $71 billion deficit.
The 2008 $7.8 billion deficit with Israel was equivalent to 126,000 US manufacturing related jobs.
It is the only bilateral FTA producing multi-billion dollar losses to the US every year for the last decade but total losses are still unknown.
The agreement was the beginning of a chain reaction of intellectual property theft documented by industry associations and US counterintelligence agencies: "US corporations were betrayed by the leaks of their intellectual property during treaty negotiations in 1984.
US pharmaceutical, defense and other industries continue to lose billions in revenue to Israeli copy-cat merchandise. We are only beginning to fully understand the larger impact of AIPAC and the Israeli government’s ongoing acquisition of classified US information."
ITC confirmed the 1984 report titled "Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty Free Treatment for U.S. Imports from Israel, Investigation No. 332-180" is still classified and unavailable to American researchers performing damage assessments.
source: MarketWatch
Sooooo…let's ask "Is Israel and the Jews Good for America"? Or not. Joe Blow needs to know.
BTW, Jim Cramer was a research assistant for Allan Dershowitz while at Harvard. Personally, I detect a little of the same style, the same type of relationship to his audience.
On leaving Harvard, where he was editor of the Crimson, he initially went into the media.
@D – Thx for sharing this. Good to know Cramer maintained the 'high standards' one could expect from a Dershowitz research assistant.
Th movers and shakers behind the Israel lobby and the the historic Wall Street looting of the nation and the world are in many cases the same people and institutions — Goldman Sachs, Bernie Madoff, Lehman Brothers, Chuck Schumer, hedge fund honchos, etc.
Two sides of the same coin.
If Joe Six-pack ever finds this out, the reaction will not be pretty.
"United States a world of good, especially in opening some kind of second front against the Taliban in the opium heartland of western Afghanistan and providing an alternative to the risky Pakistan route for U.S. and NATO supplies into Afghanistan."
Iran has the highest rate of heroin addiction in the world. Millions of heroin addicts. Whole areas of Iran devastated with heroin addiction and AIDS.
It's surprising how little Iran does to stop it.
Susie -
I have no argument with you about Cramer. He's not my cup of tea – I dislike the scream-fest that is his show. Nor do I have any love lost for the feeding frenzy that has depleted about half of every American's retirement assets.
But, I don't see why he is suddenly one of the dark forces of the "Israel Lobby" or why someone like Crimson Ghost above shouldn't be admonished for essentially saying – Jew Like Israel, Jew Who Work in Finance Support Israel, Jew Responsible for Financial Collapse, Jew Must Be Killed By Joe Six-Pack. That's abhorrent and indicative of the level of anti-Jewish monologue on this site.
Do you support "American"'s viewpoint above that American Jews must be "wiped out" and "executed"? Shame on you if you do, but that's who this site is for.
As for your comment that Cramer somehow "intimidated" Andrew Cuomo – you clearly do not know Andrew Cuomo – he is not easily intimidated – even by a crazy person who bangs bells, and throws bulls and bears around and sounds like an infomercial.
Now – if you really want to get rid of the "Lobby", make sure that no other country has any supporters in Congress – I'm thinking of the Latin American states lobby, the Indian lobby, the Saudi lobby, the Chinese lobby, etc. and etc. (oh, and CAIR and the Palestinian lobby). While you are obliterating free speech, take down this website and any other with any political viewpoint. Actually, if you just take down the counter-factual websites, I am sure that AIPAC's can remain while this one is shut down.
Iran has the highest rate of heroin addiction in the world. Millions of heroin addicts. Whole areas of Iran devastated with heroin addiction and AIDS.
Complete fabrication. Total lie. That's why there's no reference for it. If Julian does come back and post a link, guaranteed it will be from some Zionist front site.
Incidentally:
"Israel has become a predatory gangster state. Leave aside the military aggression and abominable treatment of minority groups. It is at the center of the illicit drug trade in Ecstasy. [5] It is a leading covert arms dealer. [6] It is at the forefront of computer hacking. [7] Even the trafficking in women, a practice that usually elicits universal condemnation, provokes no more than an embarrassed coughing behind the hand when Israel does it. [8] Such nice playmates our congressmen have worshipfully chosen as their idols!"
Israel and the Triple Standard
New Anti-Zionist Party Launched in France
In an attampt to rid it's country from the contol of Zionist Lobby Groups and organizations, France has launched it's new Anti Zionist Political Party called "Parti Anti Sioniste." Below are the parties goals taken from a translated page:
EFFORTS AND AMBITIONS OF ANTI Zionist PARTY IN FRANCE
To eliminate the Zionist interference in the affairs of the Nation.
Denounce all the politicians who are advocating Zionism.
Eliminating all forms of Zionism in the nation.
Prevent companies and institutions to contribute to the war effort of a foreign nation that does not respect international law.
Unleashing our state, our government and our institutions of the grip and the pressure of Zionist organizations.
Unleashing the media for a plurality of information to promote freedom of expression.
Promote the free expression of the politics, culture, philosophy and religion and free of Zionism.
Restoring power in France and the French under the new geopolitical and economic rules on the big issues that engage the responsibility of the Nation.
Do not engage France in the wars of colonization and repatriate our armed forces stationed in Africa, Afghanistan and around the world.
Requiring a referendum for any new commitment of France abroad.
Establish a bill to ban dual nationality to participate in war without explicit mandate of the Nation.
Prohibit any militia whatever their faith.
Establish a national dialogue to raise awareness and a society that excludes any advocacy of Zionism.
Set the mode of voting by proportional representation so that all segments of society are represented.
Advocate for the establishment of a society of justice, progress and tolerance.
New Anti-Zionist Party Launched
Memo to Harcourt Fenton: Hey! Chris Berel, is that you?
Fascinating link, Dan. I'd settle for just "Establish a national dialogue to raise awareness."
Zionism, the "American value" that dares not speak its name.
@ Susie,
It's ironic that these financial industry crooks throw up charges of "Communist" to ward off investigators, given that corrupt Big Government is what is enabling their schemes, just as it is enabling the Zionist swindle.
There's a difference between free markets and government engineered economies. What we live in is a government engineered funny money economy, and these financial industry crooks are merely the "private enterprise" front. And they literally make billions for their "services."
Ask yourself: if we are really living in a free enterprise economy, why were the Bankers the first to get billions in bailouts? What we are living in is a near Soviet-like oligarchy, where the politicians and banksters are together the equivalent of the Communist Party elite who forked over the resources of the country to themselves. Here, the government officials can't be so obvious, so they go through "private enterprise" fronts.
Guess who were among the largest contributors to Obama? The financial services industries. They own him, he owns them. Bush owned them, they owned him. It's all one Big Government orgy where the top tier "Party" members are getting rich and the rest of us go hungry.
This is the complete opposite of the government designed and built by the American founders, going back to which is the only way to save the country. Those who are peddling yet more Socialism are part of the problem.
Sure we need a safety net, but crooks like these have used the public's need for a safety net to leverage themselves billions. They all have to go, because they're part and parcel of a corrupt oligarchical-socialist system.
re cramer and shenanigans that are worse than you think…
http://www.real-debt-elimination.com/real_money/crimes_of_the_economy/russian_mafia_conspiracy_on_wall_street.htm
unfortunately you kind of have to read the whole thing. it's fascinating and chilling
"Like the economy, the back room games of how US foreign policy is crafted is increasingly out in the light."
This is precisely the importance of the AIPAC spy case. One side says they were passing classified data vital to USA security, the other side says they were engaging in mere back door diplomacy. The case
threatens to blow apart not only Israeli influence over USA interests, 5th column stuff, but also more generally who controls the USA and in what interests? If the case ever goes to full trial, the mass of Americans will be more irritable than they are now over how we got into the current economic crisis.
Behind the curtain, the faces of the manipulators will suddenly be revealed.
@ Harcourt Fenton,
CAIR is a civil rights AMERICAN organization. It is tax-exempt. Lobbies are not tax exempt because they play politics and promote one side over the other. They try to protect Muslims from harassers and nazi like people. That would be like saying get rid of the ACLU and NAACP.
As a proponent of free speech I do not propose that the lobbies of various countries be outright banned. But their interests should not come at the cost of American lives and values. OR at the cost of human rights anywhere.
Get informed and spew about stuff that you have no idea about.
Most of my sentences lack grammatical structure. Excuse me. I'm trying to do homework at the same time as I'm trying to talk sense into people.
Excuse me. I'm trying to do homework at the same time as I'm trying to talk sense into people.
Posted by: Saleema | March 13, 2009 at 07:10 PM
Translation: Saleema is trying to convince people when she has no facts and doesn't know what she is talking about
Truth about CAIR?
In Defense of the Constitution
* * * *
Let there be no doubt that the Council on American-Islamic Relations
is a terrorist supporting front organization that is partially funded by terrorists, founded by terrorists, and that CAIR wishes nothing more than the implementation of Sharia Law in America
* * * *
* * * *
- The Proven Truths About CAIR -
Click Here To Read
http://www.anti-cair-net.org/
I knew it! Chris is an Islamophobe. LOL
By the way, can anyone tell me why my comments are appearing twice?
Chris there is no CAIR. It does not exist. It is only mentioned by Islamophoes.
Hey guys we have our own Rush Limbaugh.
What a trip!
The guy behind that website is Daniel Pipes, the same guy who is cheering the indicted Israeli spy–who's name escapes me at the moment.
hahahahaha–that's my evil laugh. I shall laugh like that when Shariah gets implemented and all you will be made our slaves.
If anyone wants to know my views on Shariah, visit my blog. Chris, stay away.
@
Do you support "American"'s viewpoint above that American Jews must be "wiped out" and "executed"? Shame on you if you do, but that's who this site is for.
Posted by: Harcourt Fenton | March 13, 2009 at 04:36 PM >>>>
Tisk,tisk, not nice to misquote people.
BTW…can you give me your address?..I need to tell my Blackwater guys where to find you.
Interesting to read the many WAPO pages of comments on Freeman & the Lobby:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/community/groups/index.html?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat:a70e3396-6663-4a8d-ba19-e44939d3c44fForum:ff69aa89-8e4e-40d1-bb35-f6d467b1e068Discussion:966dea0e-603f-429a-a0ed-f83093a4627e&plckCurrentPage=0
Most of them blow away Witty's take.