> According to its web site, Grace News Network is "dedicated to > transmitting the evidence of God's presence in the world today."
And here I thought all these decades that all that was necessary as witness to something or someone bigger than me was to sit on the back porch and ponder the natural world. To think that all those poor Arab "folks" need an interpreter of white-Anglo-Saxxon-Protestant pursuasion to obtain convincing "evidence" is a bit nauseous to say the least. Anyone have a laser cannon available to shoot that propaganda vehicle out of the sky before the natives get irritated and start exacting their pounds of flesh retribution for such an onslaught? Todd Swearingen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Addison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <biofuel@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 1:53 PM Subject: [biofuel] Grace News > Focus on the Corporation > Mon, 28 Apr 2003 > > Grace News > By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > > The U.S. government this week launched its Arabic language satellite TV > news station for Muslim Iraq. > > It is being produced in a studio -- Grace Digital Media -- controlled by > fundamentalist Christians who are rabidly pro-Israel. > > That's Grace as in "by the Grace of God." > > Grace Digital Media is controlled by a fundamentalist Christian > millionaire, Cheryl Reagan, who last year wrested control of Federal News > Service, a transcription news service, from its former owner, Cortes > Randell. > > Randell says he met Reagan at a prayer meeting, brought her in as an > investor in Federal News Service, and then she forced him out of his own > company. > > Grace Digital Media and Federal News Service are housed in a downtown > Washington, D.C. office building, along with Grace News Network. > > When you call the number for Grace News Network, you get a person > answering "Grace Digital Media/Federal News Service." > > According to its web site, Grace News Network is "dedicated to > transmitting the evidence of God's presence in the world today." > > "Grace News Network will be reporting the current secular news, along with > aggressive proclamations that will 'change the news' to reflect the > Kingdom of God and its purposes," GNN proclaims. > > The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the U.S. government agency > producing the television news broadcasts for Iraq, likes to say it is the > BBC of the USA. > > BBG runs Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, and Radio Sawa -- Arabic > language radio for the Middle East. > > "Our mission is clear," BBG's Joan Mower told us. "To broadcast accurate > and objective news about the United States and the world. We don't do > propaganda, leafleting -- we are like the BBC in that respect." > > Well, then why hook up with Grace? > > BBG's Joan Mower said that Grace Digital Media is a mainstream production > house used by all kinds of mainstream news organizations. > > "Grace will have nothing to do with the editorial side of the news > broadcast," she said. "They are renting us equipment, space, studio. The > Grace personnel we use include technicians, production people but no > editorial people." > > But Mower said she couldn't get us a copy of the contract between BBG and > Grace Digital media. Nor could she say how Grace Digital was chosen as the > production studio. > > Grace News Network proclaims that it will be a "unique tool in the Lord's > ministry plan for the world." > > "Grace News Network provides networking links and portals to various > ministries and news services that will be of benefit to every Christian > believer and seeker of truth," according to the company's mission > statement. > > The CEO of Grace News Network is Thorne Auchter. > > The same Thorne Auchter who began the dismantling of the Occupational > Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under Presidents Reagan and George > Bush I. > > Auchter did not return our calls seeking comment for this story. > > While it's unclear whether Grace News Network actually produces any news, > it has produced a documentary movie titled "Israel: Divine Destiny" which > it showed at the National Press Club in September 2002. > > The film is about "Israel's destiny and the United States' role in that > destiny," according to Grace News Network. > > Grace News said that it could not make a copy of the film available to us > at this time, since it is now undergoing post-production editing. Nor > could it provide a transcript. > > The mainstream media has documented strong and growing ties between > right-wing Republican Christian fundamentalists and right-wing Sharonist > Israeli expansionists. > > This alliance is personified in Ralph Reed's Stand Up for Israel, a group > formed to "mobilize Christians and other people of faith to support the > State of Israel." > > President Bush has very strong ties to fundamentalist Christians, most > notably Franklin Graham, the son of Rev. Billy Graham. > > Last week, Franklin Graham delivered a Good Friday message at the > Pentagon, despite an uproar over his previous slander of Islam as "a very > evil and wicked religion." > > Don Wagner, a professor of religion and director of the Center for Middle > Eastern Studies at North Park University, an evangelical Christian college > in Chicago, has written extensively about what he calls Christian Zionism, > whose leaders he identifies as, among others, Ralph Reed, Jerry Falwell, > Pat Robertson, Gary Bauer, and Franklin Graham. > > "Christian Zionists have historically pointed to Genesis 12:3 - I will > bless those who bless you. And the one who curses you, I will curse," Dr. > Wagner said. "They have interpreted this to mean that individuals and > nations who support the state of Israel will be blessed by God. It has > come to mean political, economic, and moral support, often uncritically > rendered to the state of Israel." > > Grace News Network seems to fit the mold. > > Joan Mower says that BBG is currently producing and transmitting six hours > of news into Iraq including a dubbed version of the daily evening news > from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and PBS, plus three hours of original news > programming from BBG. > > BBG says it sees no problem in having Grace produce the evening news > broadcast for Iraq. > > Given the brewing anti-American revolt through all sectors of Iraqi > society, maybe it should reconsider. > > We called Grace Digital Media to speak with Cheryl Reagan. > > Her secretary told us that she has been away in extended vacation for more > than a month -- in Israel. > > When will she back? we asked. > > No one knows, the secretary said. > > > Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime > Reporter. Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based > Multinational Monitor, http://www.multinationalmonitor.org. They are > co-authors of Corporate Predators: The Hunt for MegaProfits and the Attack > on Democracy (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press; > http://www.corporatepredators.org). > > (c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > > This article is posted at: > http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/corp-focus/2003/000150.html > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Focus on the Corporation is a weekly column written by Russell Mokhiber > and Robert Weissman. Please feel free to forward the column to friends or > repost the column on other lists. If you would like to post the column on > a web site or publish it in print format, we ask that you first contact us > ([EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]). > > Focus on the Corporation columns are posted at > <http://www.corporatepredators.org>. > > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Biofuels list archives: > http://archive.nnytech.net/ > > Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. > To unsubscribe, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get A Free Psychic Reading! 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