Media Seen as the Primary Cause of the Depth and Length of the Global Recession, According to New Research From Frost & Sullivan

Companies Must Ignore Fear, Make Smart Moves to Emerge Stronger

In a recent survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, 91% of CEOs blame the breadth and depth of the current economic situation on the media.

"The media's manipulation of statistics, negativity, exaggeration, and doomsday forecasts have driven fear and panic among consumers and businesses alike," says David Frigstad, Chairman of Frost & Sullivan.

Economic statistics are often twisted and exaggerated. The fear of total economic collapse is perpetuated in the media to grab attention and sell more copies or attract more viewers or listeners. Because of this, consumers and business have frozen spending, canceled projects, sold investments, and laid off workers. This has caused a downward spiral in demand and pricing that has now caused about 20 trillion dollars of damage globally.

"As the media continues to perpetuate fear, uncertainty and doubt, there is a growing chance that it will result in a self-fulfilling prophecy," adds Frost & Sullivan Economist Sandeep Maheshwari.

What clearly started out with financial mismanagement and fraud on Wall Street has now escalated into a major global recession exacerbated by the media. According to Frost & Sullivan's research, CEOs cite how the media has continued to drive fear through efforts to gain more readers, viewers, and listeners. The ironic turn is that the media is also being victimized by the current recession, with declining audiences and falling ad revenues.

In the responses portion of the study, CEOs made several interesting comments:

-- "Several newspapers have compared the overall job losses to the Great Depression without taking into account the huge increase in U.S. population since that time. These comparisons only generate more fear and are counter-productive."

-- "Economists miss every turn in the economy. Why do we rely on their forecasts today when they are so unreliable? They move like a herd of antelope -- their current forecasts all fit nicely into a pack."

-- "I recently read a headline that said Microsoft will lay off 5,000 workers. At the end of the piece it mentioned it would be over a three year period. Compared to the overall size of Microsoft, this is not newsworthy."

We are now at a turning point. An unprecedented global stimulus plan and guaranteed programs are now in place. More than 8 trillion dollars globally is being pumped into the economy, along with trillions of dollars in guarantees. Retail sales, housing prices, existing home sales, and used car sales are all showing signs of strength. Interest rates are at historical lows and mortgage relief is in sight.

"All of these trends could signal the turning point if we change our outlook. The media, economists, politicians, bankers, and business executives could collectively turn the economy around by working simultaneously to restore confidence back into the system -- in turn, calming the public. It's time for us to give up on the doom and gloom," concludes Frigstad.

America's Emptiest Cities

Vacancy rates in these spots spell lots of empty neighborhoods.
Call it a modern-day tale of two cities.
For decades, Las Vegas, ripe with new construction and economic development, burgeoned into a shimmering urban carnival. Detroit, once the fulcrum of American industry, sagged and rusted under its own weight.

Jeff Howe and Crowdsourcing

Riot

...But when a riot breaks out and the prisoners take him hostage, a lifer (played by Nicolas Cage) is forced to help the young man out. xXx director Rob Cohen was originally attached to the project when it was set-up at New Line.

First Look: Nic Cage in Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass

September 10, 2008
Source: TheBadandUgly.com, Millarworld.tv
by Alex Billington

"If I absolutely have to go to jail for a comic-book movie then I accept no substitutes. This is the one. I hereby declare Kick-Ass as the greatest movie of 2009." That's how author Mark Millar starts out his blog on the production of Kick-Ass, the comic book adaptation directed by Matthew Vaughn that's currently shooting in London.

Urotherapy Works?

LA PAZ, Bolivia – A Bolivian woman has died from an injection of urine allegedly administered by her friend as a form of health therapy, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Investigating prosecutor Oscar Flores told The Associated Press that 35-year-old Gabriela Ascarrunz died Saturday of an "infection caused by urine that was injected by fashion designer Monica Schultz."
I cannot imagine how this works but apparently it does. I would like to know why it did not work in this woman's case but it did work in the clothing designer who allegedly gave her the fatal dosage.
I read a little on this topic and saw on Wikipedia that Madonna used it to cure athelet's foot fungus.
Apparently this urotherapy has been around for thousands of years.
Growing up I have heard old wives tales that say wipe your face or the baby's face with infant urine for healthy skin. I saw the end results of this but the person was not using cloth diapers but the modern kind. Maybe that was a factor but the baby's face was rash upon rash. Maybe as time went on it cleared up--I dunno.
Anyone else know about urotherapy?

Urotherapy Works?

LA PAZ, Bolivia – A Bolivian woman has died from an injection of urine allegedly administered by her friend as a form of health therapy, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Investigating prosecutor Oscar Flores told The Associated Press that 35-year-old Gabriela Ascarrunz died Saturday of an "infection caused by urine that was injected by fashion designer Monica Schultz."
I cannot imagine how this works but apparently it does. I would like to know why it did not work in this woman's case but it did work in the clothing designer who allegedly gave her the fatal dosage.
I read a little on this topic and saw on Wikipedia that Madonna used it to cure athelet's foot fungus.
Apparently this urotherapy has been around for thousands of years.
Growing up I have heard old wives tales that say wipe your face or the baby's face with infant urine for healthy skin. I saw the end results of this but the person was not using cloth diapers but the modern kind. Maybe that was a factor but the baby's face was rash upon rash. Maybe as time went on it cleared up--I dunno.
Anyone else know about urotherapy?