Today the paper, tomorrow your house...

KGB ALERT! GIVE IT UP VOLUNTARILY, YOU USEFUL IDIOTS!!!

Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Ex-KGB spy buys UK paper for £1
Russian ex-KGB agent Alexander Lebedev is to buy the London Evening Standard newspaper for the sum of £1.

The paper's publisher - the Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) - said it had agreed to the sale of a majority interest in the paper to Mr Lebedev.

The billionaire businessman is believed to have made an offer for approximately a 76% share of the paper.

He has previously revealed that he used the paper to find out information when he was a young spy based in London.

DMGT said the Evening Standard would pass into the hands of Evening Press, a company formed by Mr Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev and owned by Lebedev Holdings.

DMGT's Associated Newspapers division is to retain a minority share of 24.9% in the new firm, called Evening Standard Ltd.


Imagine the French having Le Monde or Le Figaro taken over by a Russian multi-millionaire?
Sir Peregrine Worsthorne

It is the first time a Russian oligarch has owned a British title, but Mr Lebedev said he strongly supports a free press and would not interfere with the paper editorially.

In an attempt to head off any such fears, DMGT said the Evening Standard would establish a new editorial committee to "safeguard the principle of editorial independence".

Mr Lebedev said: "We are strong supporters of a free and independent press and we greatly admire the Evening Standard as an iconic publication with its pedigree of fine journalism and commentary.

"We are committed to strengthening the newspaper's competitiveness and look forward to working with Associated, which will continue to be involved as a minority shareholder."

'Fully committed'

DMGT chairman Lord Rothermere said the company was "very proud" to have owned the paper.

He said: "It has a long and distinguished history as one of the world's great city newspapers, based on outstanding journalism.

"I believe that Alexander Lebedev shares my commitment to newspapers and will continue to invest in the Evening Standard."

He said none of DMGT's other newspaper publications would be involved in the deal, adding that the company "remains fully committed to journalism and newspaper ownership".


It's an illustration of how our national pride has declined
Sir Peregrine Worsthorne

Sir Peregrine Worsthorne, former editor of the Sunday Telegraph, said the take-over was a sign of "national decline".

He told the BBC: "I think it's one more example that we are no more a serious nation that we allow a serious paper to be taken over in our capital by a Russian oligarch.

"Imagine the French having Le Monde or Le Figaro taken over by a Russian multi-millionaire? It's an illustration of how our national pride has declined."

Mr Lebedev's fortune, which is reported to be worth around $3.1bn (£2.1bn), was made mostly through banking, insurance companies and from his stake in the Russian airline Aeroflot.

In 2006, he teamed up with ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to buy shares in the Russian paper Novaya Gazeta and his property portfolio includes a string of boutique hotels across Europe.

BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas has said the Evening Standard had been hit by the advertising downturn and a fierce free newspaper battle in London.

Mr Lebedev has also expressed an interest in buying out other struggling newspapers both in the UK and the United States.

His take-over of the Evening Standard s expected to take place in February following consultation with employees.

Little dwarf from Carcass - expels Mermaid, Superman, Batman, Mickey, Ben&Jerry, Bart S., and in his blind fury Fidel too...

Now, let me get it straight - the Messiah from Carcass has reached his political nirvana; next he awaits his ideological levitation. So much for the diet of rice & beens...Phooey!!!
As horrible as the conflict in the ME is, who is this schmuck deciding to play an emperor from hindlands...Does he wear clothes?

Jan 6, 2009 23:29 | Updated Jan 7, 2009 3:52
Venezuela expels Israeli ambassador
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry on Tuesday announced that that the government will expel the Israeli ambassador, Shlomo Cohen, and all embassy personnel in response to Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Venezuela's President Hugo...

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez waves to supporters in Caracas.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has condemned the Israeli campaign in Gaza, where nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed in ground and air strikes.

In response, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said that Israel will continue to protect itself from its enemies, amongst them Hamas and Iran, Israel Radio reported.

The Foreign Ministry added that every country must decide whether it is on the side which is fighting terrorism, or the side supporting it.

Israel launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27 to stop Palestinian terrorists from firing rockets into southern Israel.

Chavez, a frequent critic of the US and its allies, said Venezuela is also trying to supply food and medical aid to Gaza.

My poem, my reaction...to all this...

Gabriel A. Levicky

ALL I WANT…

This world, yeah - is a fiery
Bowling alley.
My heart and soul
Bounce around like
Soon to be lifeless sacrifice.
Where is the Big Flood
When we need one?
To cleanse us
Of our limitations
And insults to animals.
The weakness of my screams
Is due to a very few who care to listen.
I am losing and gaining
Every day
Until the point of boredom.
I’ve laughed for so long
That there is no room
For calculated sadness.
I wonder what the mirrors say
When it is their time.
Yes. I got it!
When death is really absent,
We do everything to invent it
&
Continue to build the pyramids
Out of yellowish skulls
With missing teeth.
Sorry, I didn’t ask to be here.
All I want is to hitchhike
To that autumn leaf
&
Blend in with an inevitable.


The Bronx, on the subway n. 1 - January 2009