Who the hell is the "Carmel Group"?

And why the hell are they making accusations about technology that are 2 years out of date?

Opinions Rise on XM-Sirius Plan - washingtonpost.com:

Such regulators as the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission must decide whether Internet radio, MP3 players and traditional AM and FM radio compete with satellite radio, and whether a single satellite radio provider would harm consumers.

One of the main arguments against the merger, according to the Carmel Group, is that consumers' audio options, particularly in the car, are limited. While some technology firms promise great advances that could bring more choice -- such as in-car, high-definition radio and built-in MP3 technology -- regulators should consider only what's available now, the group says. [emph mine]

"The FCC and DOJ aren't in the business of looking into some crystal ball and predicting some technology in the future," said Jimmy Shaeffler, Carmel Group senior analyst and author of the group's report released last week. "Somewhere down the line, maybe 5 years, 7 years or more, XM and Sirius can come back to this argument and possibly prevail."

Uh, Carmel, whoever the hell you are, HD RADIO and CAR MP3 PLAYERS (off cdroms, flash drives, and built-in sync through usb ports from laptops, as well as a variety of ipod installations) ARE ALREADY HERE!!!!!. HD Radio has been advertising on WTOP for over a year and a half now, and I'm seriously looking to buy a new car stereo that 1) plays cds, 2) plays cdroms of mp3s, and 3) has an input jack right on the front for plugging in my XM and my wife's IPod, as desired.

So guess what, you're argument is over two years out of date and extremely easily discredited.

Now tell me, Carmel: who the hell are you really working for?