HRH Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and Fox

[Alcibiades]

Today, the GOP talking point is that Al-Waleed bin Talal is "just an investor," yet how is it that there are photos of him together with Murdoch, and that Murdoch is also invested in Al-Waleed bin Talal's media company? That's not simply an "investment." Why is there no talk of how long he's been a major News Corporation stockholder? Since at least 1997, when he owned 5%. Given the long-term nature of these holdings, the cross-ownership between the two principals, and the fact that they are both international media moguls, wouldn't it be fairer to describe their relationship as a long-term, strategic global business partnership, rather than some chance association?

This is also not the first time Fox has covered Al-Waleed bin Talal. In 2008, in an article detailing the Saudi Supreme Judiciary Council's fatwa against "immoral" media companies, there appears this:

"Among the most viewed Arabic satellite networks is Rotana, which airs movies and music videos. It is owned by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a billionaire businessman and member of the royal family whom Forbes ranks as the world's 13th richest person."

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Sep12/0,4670,SaudiTVFatwa,00.html

Why is Al-Waleed bin Talal mentioned by name in the article, when the fatwa in question did not name him (and certainly could not name him, given that he is a Saudi prince)? Did Fox run this article at his behest, to serve as some sort of warning or influence international public opinion? And why, given that his status as a prince and a billionaire and the world's 13th richest person are somehow relevant, is his status as a major New Corp stockholder not also relevant?

Also, Jon Stewart is not the only person to take note of this connection: Joseph Farah of worldnetdaily has also been critical, and he's hardly someone Glenn Beck fans can simply dismiss as liberal.

FOR YEARS Fox has made much of every little connection. You see Glenn Beck with his asinine little charts that aim to "prove" ridiculous assertions on the basis of the most tenuous connections. We're supposed to be very concerned that Muslims want to build a mosque in Lower Manhattan, even though there are already mosques there. We are supposed to be worried that the president is somehow secretly Muslim. We're even supposed to worry that the logo of the Nuclear Security Summit logo somehow resembles a crescent, or that the president shook Chavez's hand. Look at the clip. The president shook Chavez's hand for about a second, and that's somehow concerning, but Murdoch can be in business with HRH Al-Waleed bin Talal for at least 13 years, a known donor to Islamic charities and mosque funder (he's probably built dozens, at least!), someone reputed to send checks to the families of suicide bombers, and yet there's not supposed to be any concern?

It's not that, by showing HRH Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal in a bad light (without naming him, natch) somehow shows that Fox is actually independent of his influence. What it shows is that all the xenophobia, Islamophobia and hatred Fox profits by engineering is all based upon a fraud. Fox is not even sincere in their fear and outrage, otherwise they would never do business with HRH Al-Waleed bin Talal. And if all that outrage is simply a cynical attempt to manipulate people, then you have to ask what else they are lying about.

The last time I checked, it was pretty much everything.



http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GFGqx943X9Q/SfcKe37MxJI/AAAAAAAAAXk/lgyvaBAI5Z8/s320/Al+Waleed+Bin+Talal+Al+Saud+and+his+AK47.gif













http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Abu+Dhabi+Media+Summit+QgMP8ZmRUM-l.jpg

[RandomThoughts]

1. That west world tie in was really great then.

Really close match there :)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9013671&mesg_id=9016836

Note it says the robots have everything, loved that line. Although I think in that metaphor the robots are just people in society, or the workers.


In with the Buffet clan also. Interesting choice of photos.

[Alcibiades]

7. The more you look into him, the more you find of interest

Just google his name in an image search. You find lots of pictures of him and the stuff he owns, along with the celebrities he collects. Michael Jackson, Rudy Giuliani, Buffet, his castle, his amazingly gorgeous wife, art, his various academic and philanthropic beneficiaries, his horses, his various porting interests, his boats, his vanity biography. Conspicuous consumption on a grand scale, without any reticence at self-promotion. Note, too, the Fox Business interview wherein he claims banks ought not to be taxed, because finance is another of his important lines.

One thing the MSM is not talking about is who he is. I'm reading Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, which I had not read before, and, in a curious case of serendipity, he shows up there, too, as 75th on the list of the 75 richest persons in human history. His real peer group are people like Rupert Murdoch, the international mega rich. He has a hell of a lot more in common with them than he does with, say, the Taliban, not that the MSM will talk about him at all. Here is someone who is a key player in world finance, someone whose every act is intended to draw attention to his majesty, but he's assiduously ignored. Why?

[Alcibiades]

10. Is that really him in westworld?

No mole, but sure looks like a younger version of him. He's everywhere!

[dkf]

2. Looks to me like he bought favorable coverage for himself.

When you have all that money why not?

[snagglepuss]

3. My question is why hasn't Al-Waleed put his foot down?. Online is a story of

of him bragging a couple years ago of stopping of Fox story he didn't like. Clearly he has influence so why has he let this Fox hate-fest proceed non-stop. The House of Saud, the bush dynasty, Murdoch are all despicable, manipulative lowlifes. I don't trust any of them. I find it odd to say the least that within days of this story coming out, all of the sudden Park51 is acknowledging that Al-Waleed is involved in financing the project.

[OnyxCollie]

5. The Saudi Family fears Al Qaeda

so by ginning up the fear, they can get the American public to go along with using the military to protect Saudi interests. It goes along with a theory I read that said that peak oil had been reached, and that the invasion of Iraq was to capture the oil fields and direct oil to Saudi Arabia, so that it could maintain its position as swing producer of oil. It seems plausible.

Saudi Arabia is the largest purchaser of US arms. I figure their trying to get a little more for their money.

[Alcibiades]

9. What you say is true

Though I think Al-Waleed bin Talal has gotten big enough that his own interests have taken a life of their own, distinct from the House of Saud. Still, I think he, and they, are playing a double game, cozying up to US business, academia, the arts and philanthropy, while doing the same in the Islamic world. Funding such things as the The Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown.

http://cmcu.georgetown.edu/

I'm sure it makes for fascinating reading, though I have not the time at the moment, though I did notice Shireen Hunter has a Project Director job. It seems very much in line with the overall goals of the Cordoba Initiative, though. So here, it's all promoting friendship and mutual understanding, tolerance and multiculturalism in a globalizing era.

The question is though, is this the same face he presents to the Islamic world? Are the charges that he sends cash to the families of suicide bombers true? If so, which face is the true face, or is it all simply related to his overall, self-aggrandizing project?

[Alcibiades]

8. It's damage control

So far as I can see, Fox News isn't even mentioning his name, though I will not watch their channel, his name appears only once on their web site, in the 2008 story cited.

I think Fox is stupid and evil, but in this case, just stupid. They had thought they could just say "where's the money coming from" and imply it was someplace sinister without their own connections to the same person--who as far as I can see is "only" about as sinister as Murdoch himself--ever coming to light. They will fail in this, though.

[Turborama]

4. K&R Thanks for the analysis, photos and for keeping this story alive. n/t

[Scurrilous]

6. Thanks.

K & R :thumbsup:

[AzDar]

11. K & R

:kick:

[Poboy]

12. KnR

[izzybeans]

13. That first pic is laugh out loud funny. Holy shit.

May he be the most parodied man in the world. He deserves nothing less.

[Alcibiades]

14. It gets better: did you notice he's on an airplane?

His airplane, of course, his flying palace, 747. He's bought a new one, a $485 million Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnEYf8w1Ab0

http://gizmodo.com/5279529/inside-the-485+million-airbus-a380-flying-palace

Bond villanesque? Funny you should say that. He is the current owner of the Kingdom 5KR, formerly the Nabila, owned by Adnan Khashoggi, the the Trump Princess, owned by you know who and sold during one of his bankruptcies. Originally built in 1980, it cost $100 million, Trump bought it for $29 million and sold it to the prince for $40 million, afters spending who knows how much refurbishing it.



Obviously, the thing is 30 years old now, and has sunk to the #26 on the list of the world's largest yachts, so it is unworthy of his Majesty. Not to worry: the Prince has planned for his contingency, and has a new yacht under construction, the New Kingdom 5KR





Over $500 million, scheduled for completion late this year. Sharks with fricken' laserbeams not included.

[Poboy]

15. !-nt

[Poboy]

16. Thought I'd give this another kick