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Television is advertising. It is a medium whose purpose is to sell, to promote capitalism. In 1977, Jerry Mander, a former advertising executive in San Francisco, published Four Arguments For The Elimination Of Television. In the book, Mander reveals how the television networks and advertisers use this pervasive video medium for sales. Four Arguments talks about a lot more than just advertising. Mander attacks not only the contents of the television images, but the effects television has on the human mind and body. His discussion includes: The induction of alpha waves, a hypnotizing effect that a motionless mind enters. How viewers often regard what they see on television as real even though the programs are filled with quick camera switches, rapid image movement, computer generated objects, computer generated morphing and other technical events. The placement of artificial images into our mind's eye. And the effects that large amounts of television viewing have on children and the onset of attention deficit disorder. However, at the heart of Mander's arguments, lies advertising. In the words of writer Charles Bukowski: "[America is] not a free country -- everything is bought and sold and owned."

"In a U.S. torn by dissent over health care, immigration and Barack Obama, rhetorical rage is the new norm. Just turn on Fox News and MSNBC. Partisan talkers like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity on the conservative-leaning FNC and Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz on their liberal counterpart MSNBC inflame their eager fans with colorful, merciless and sometimes misleading attacks on the opposition. A generation ago, no matter how divided their politics, Americans got their news from the same source-"the lame stream media," to quote Fox contributor Sarah Palin. Almost the entire country was watching back in 1968 when CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite declared the Vietnam War not winnable. Four years later, he was deemed the most trusted man in America."

Throughout this year I've devoted substantial attention to WikiLeaks, particularly in the last four weeks as calls for its destruction intensified.  To understand why I've done so, and to see what motivates the increasing devotion of the U.S. Government and those influenced by it to destroying that organization, it's well worth reviewing exactly what WikiLeaks exposed to the world just in the last year:  the breadth of the corruption, deceit, brutality and criminality on the part of the world's most powerful factions.

US universities and colleges could end unlawful US wars and stop banksters' rigged-casino fraud if they taught the central facts of these issues. This four-part series of articles is an open proposal for their action. Feel free to share it.

One is worth $39 billion, while the other has a comparatively meager $450 million but significantly more street cred with young people. So Warren Buffett and Jay-Z are teaming up to teach kids about financial literacy. Buffett's animated series Secret Millionaires Club is set to move from the web to television this month, and an animated Jay-Z is the guest star for the first episode on October 23. During the episode, Jay-Z invites four students to his office and applauds their hard work in school, then gives them some tips on how they can become successful later in life. The idea is to get kids hooked by Jay-Z's endorsement, then keep the lessons going long after the television is turned off. Secret Millionaires Club is simultaneously launching "Learn and Earn," an initiative to teach students a well-organized series of lessons on financial literacy. To that end, the program is providing more than 100,000 educational kits to teachers, and putting a pretty fantastic collection of free, downloadable materials online. To ensure that students put the lessons into action, the program is also kicking off "Grow Your Own Business Challenge"-an online competition designed to spark students' enterpreneurial ambitions. While most kids who watch Secret Millionaires Club probably won't end up as wealthy as Buffett or Jay-Z, who couldn't use money management lessons from two of America's most successful people?