StarSuckers

Starsuckers is a feature documentary about the celebrity obsessed media, that uncovers the real reasons behind our addiction to fame and blows the lid on the corporations and individuals who profit from it. Made completely independently over 2 years in secret, the film journeys through the dark underbelly of the modern media. Using a combination of never before seen footage, undercover reporting, stunts and animation, the film reveals the toxic effect the media is having on us all and especially our children. Chris Atkins presents Starsuckers as a series of five lessons on fame in the modern world: how children are persuaded that fame is something they want, how television and the media reinforces the importance of celebrity and the efforts to attain it, how the mind and body reinforces our need to follow the activities of well-known people and strive to join their number, how the press became addicted to celebrity coverage, and how the art of promoting fame has led to celebrities and their handlers controlling the press instead of the press having say. Along the way, Atkins demonstrates how celebrity news with no basis in fact gets into print, why newspapers will run press releases almost verbatim, how parents will eagerly sign away the image rights to their kids, how certain mass scale charity events end up helping the performers far more than the causes they designed to support, and how publicists keep accurate but unflattering stories out of the news.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Website Demonizing Goldman-Sucks Raises Firms Ire

An irate adviser/blogger has created Goldmansachs666.com to vent against the firm
By Jamie Burns

April 17, 2009, 3:35 PM EST


With all of the frightening numbers being thrown around these days — five million jobs lost, an 8.5% unemployment rate — no numerical value conjures up evil more effectively than 666.

One angry adviser is relying on the number of the beast to illustrate his frustrations with The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on his website, Goldmansachs666.com.
The New York financial giant — which posted positive earnings late Monday, has responded to creator Mike Morgan, a Jensen Beach, Fla. adviser, by demanding that he stop using the Goldman Sachs trademark within the URL of his site.

Although the site, launched March 26, states that it has no affiliation with Goldman Sachs, the company demanded in a letter sent April 8 that Mr. Morgan remove the company's trademark by tomorrow or face legal action.

“We always act to protect our firm,” a spokesman for Goldman Sachs said.

“This is not about Mr. Morgan’s rights to publish his views; it’s about his use of the Goldman Sachs trademark. It’s a domain issue, not a content issue.”

Mr. Morgan says he plans to fight for his domain name, as well as his First Amendment rights.

"We have followed all of the legal requirements to own and maintain the website under the address we have selected," he wrote on his blog.

"It's just another example of how a bully like Goldman Sachs tries to throw their weight around and this is a clear violation of our constitutional rights."

According to Mr. Morgan, Goldman Sachs did not mention the content of his site in the letter. “We’ve been very careful with the content,” he said in a media conference call.

Mr. Morgan says he hopes to inform readers about Goldman Sachs’ role in the economic crisis through blog posts and comments.

He hopes to write a book entitled, "How Goldman Sachs Destroyed the World" from information gathered through Goldmansachs666.com, according to the site.

Mr. Morgan and a team of volunteers are looking to expand their critique of the financial industry by franchising their 666.com brand.

He posted a list of links to upcoming sites that are in development to give other large financial institutions with the 666.com treatment, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Pacific Investment Management Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp., and Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc., both of New York.

As of April 17, GoldmanSachs666.com has received more than 236,000 hits.


http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090417/REG/904179963
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