One common myth held that Qaddafi himself was an Israeli agent, part of a conspiracy backed by the West.
Hicks said the agent part of Clear Channel's business represents about 1percentt of the company's total business, about $25 million out of $2.4 billion.
Mr. Aubrey is part agent, part therapist on the show, which shows distressed homeowners how to cope with the collapse of the housing market.
That cynicism was echoed this week across Pakistan, where conspiracy-minded citizens loudly branded Ms. Yousafzai a C.I.A. agent, part of a nebulous Western plot to humiliate their country and pressure their government.
When Rory Gray moved into a one-bed flat in Exeter last year, it wasn't the £650 a month rent that really irked him – but the £800 in fees demanded by the letting agent, part of Britain's biggest agency, Countrywide.
His job, which requires him to be part renting agent, part host, sets him off a little from the other glamour boys, some of whom are militantly opposed to work and some of whom do nothing more strenous for a living than ordering a particular brand of wine at restaurants and night clubs.
