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| Fifth Column |
| Michael Yon wants you to boycott Car and Driver |
| 2006-06-14 |
| Ladies and Gentlemen: I try very hard to think of myself as an urban sophisticate. I'm a UC Berkeley alum (class of '66) living in San Francisco, and a retired criminal law trial practitioner. There is very little that can be done to shock me, but I can be disgusted. You've done it. Your obnoxious publication of Shock magazine with a cover containing the photograph of a US soldier holding a dead little girl has taken a tragic and touching moment in war and converted it into anti-war pornographic trash. And to add insult to injury, you expropriated the photograph from an honorable war correspondent to serve the nefarious purpose of attacking America. How very French. As an automobile aficionado, it will pain me to stop purchasing your publications, most of which I have been buying since I was a teenager. But stop I will. And I will recommend the same to my extended family and lengthy client list. And most of us will be contacting your advertisers. Losing something I have enjoyed for years is distressing, but at least I can replace it with the time I'll have to continue to chase down international liars and thugs. And I very much enjoy my fine California wines. Oh, and I will also be contacting my friends at the Pacific Legal Foundation to see what we can do to assist Michael Yon as he attempts to reclaim his property and fend off your laughable libel charges. One advantage of retirement is to be able to take on the occasional pro bono matter. For crissakes—you're public figures by your own will! Have your lawyers actually read the law? And don't bother threatening me, either. I've been threatened by experts over the years. Kindly tell your French friends to cease eating those psychedelic snails, and re-join civilization. They love to surrender. We don't. Regards, LAURENCE G. HAWK Black Five asks you to do the same BLACKFIVE: Well, it's come to this. Hopefully, you either visited Michael Yon's site to get the latest or heard him on Pundit Review Radio telling the story of how HFM agreed to stop using his image and make a donation to Fisher House, and then changed their tune. I work with a few photographers in my civilian job. They all warned me to tell Mike that magazines run roughshod all over photogs because a photographer will not engage in a huge legal fight over a picture that is only worth a few hundred dollars. So, in the normal operation of their businesses, magazine publishers tend to get away with a lot of nonsense at the expense of photographers. HFM really misjudged Mike Yon. They tried to placate him long enough to get by, and then changed the deal and tried a strongarm tactic on Mike. So, how can we help? We already might have done in Shock, but that's not enough... So I am calling for a boycott of HFM's flagship magazine Car and Driver. Boycott's are legal. Contact your clubs, friends, family, work groups, professional organizations, etc. You have more influence here than you might think. Anyone want to start boycotts on the other magazines? Elle, Flying, etc...think about where you might fit in and get going. I have sent emails to my friends about doing the same. My doctor pals are canceling their office subscriptions as well. I have a small email list of about two thousand veterans. They'll be hearing about this shortly. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #8 We don't subscribe to any magazines, so I can't boycott them. My wife occasionally buys Woman's Day at the grocer's. I would like to participate, however. I'll have to get online and visit some of these magazines, and start targeting their sponsors. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-06-14 19:39 |
| #7 From one of the google search entries and auto translated from French: Media. According to the New York Post, Saddam Hussein would hold 2 % of the capital of Lagardere SCA, the head office of Hatchet Filipacchi Media. This participation, held via the Swiss structure Montana Management, would represent an amount of 90 million dollars. Before the war of the Gulf, in 1990, the participation of Saddam Hussein was 8,4 %. Lagardere SCA indicates that this participation is cold today in agreement with the decisions of UNO and that Saddam Hussein does not have any representation at the Management committee of the group. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-14 15:54 |
| #6 hmm... Saddam's magazine investment firm "Montana Management" had a stake in HFM. do the following Google Search: HFM Saddam Montana Management |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-14 15:48 |
| #5 US magazines of HFM American Photo Boating Car and Driver Cycle World Elle Elle Décor Elle Girl Flying Home Metropolitan Home Mobile Entertainment Popular Photography and Imaging Premiere Road and Track Sound and Vision Woman's Day |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-14 15:14 |
| #4 Car and Driver? Damn I've been boycotting that since '78. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-06-14 13:57 |
| #3 I'm already boycotting (girlcotting?) the mag. I never read it at all to begin with. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-06-14 13:53 |
| #2 Well my doc just decided to pull car and driver from his waiting room and send them a notice to that effect. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-14 12:14 |
| #1 doudle post |
| Posted by: ARMYGUY 2006-06-14 11:55 |