Between Katrina II, Veep Candidate Fey...err... Palin and now this on Labor Day...the Goddess of Irony is on a roll.
I still haven't picked up my jaw from last week.
]]>Between Katrina II, Veep Candidate Fey...err... Palin and now this on Labor Day...the Goddess of Irony is on a roll.
I still haven't picked up my jaw from last week.
]]>Yes, more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton in the primaries. But more Americans, of various backgrounds and economic classes, have contributed to his campaign and registered to vote because they were able to log on to his website, register to vote, and make a very quick $25 donation by way of electronic means.
Last night alone, CNN and the Associated Press reported that the Obama campaign used the internet and wireless communication to contact 55 million Americans urging them to register to vote! Obama is able to skip public financing because more people were able to log on and donate a dollar on the web, and by filling out those 'give $1 to the campaigns' forms you get when you fill out federal income tax forms.
So what was happening the moment that Al Gore--of all people--was lobbying for wholesale change in America? Comcast was confirming to the Associated Press that it was going to launch measures to curb it's customers internet usage.
"We know from experience the vast majority of customers we ask to curb usage do so voluntarily," the company told the Associated Press, stating that on October 1, it's customers will only be able to access 250 gigabytes. Curbing the top users is necessary to keep the network fast and responsive for other users, Comcast has said. The company claims that the bandwidth cap is far above the median monthly usage of its customers, which 2 to 3 gigabytes. Very few subscribers use more than 250 gigabytes, it said. A user could download 125 standard-definition movies, about four per day, before hitting the limit.
Seems innocent enough for dabblers like you and me. But who uses that many gigs anyway? How about Barack Obama's website? Small businesses, innovative start ups like BlogHer, and broadband video networks who stand to be the economic forefront of any economic growth--aka JOBS Creation--this country will have to offer in the 21st century.
You are thinking, "TAS, isn't this a touch melodramatic?"
Okay, how about I offer you an example that will truly hit your internet jones? What if you couldn't get your Perez Hilton fix so quickly anymore??? Whatever you think of the content, Perez Hilton is possibly the greatest example of a successful small business digital start up. He's onto Comcast.... you should be too.
THIS is the proverbial slipping of the camel's nose under the Net Neutrality tent. If you don't know about the concept of net neutrality see my earlier warning here. Then learn from the pros here: And there. Watch a brilliant explainer here.
Personally, I believe that any deterrence of information, sans pornography, is censorship. But the way the courts are currently stacked, it will take years for a court to draw this conclusion and stop the telecos, and whomever else is behind this movement, from slowing access. Yet if commerce, communication and innovation are deterred by a slowing of the information online--coupled with, quite honestly, the wrong people in Washington, who could pass laws to give corporate telecos an even greater advantage then the American people--and the American economy--and even global democracy--are at risk.
So what can be done? Don't conclude that the 2006 block in Congress was enough to protect us. Use the internet to save the internet!
Contact your Congress person www.house.gov or www.senate.gov
Support, ironically, the FCC and Kevin Martin, who has said that it would not allow ISPs to be the gatekeepers.
Join and support the Personal Democracy Forum Internet for Everyone and
'Save the Internet.
Keep your eyes on an organization called Hands off the Internet the main lobbying apparatus for corporate telcos.
Also, be willing to support the smaller wireless and start up technology companies that promote an alternative to AT&T, Comcast, BellSouth, etc. I support a company called Speak Easy, for example.
Speakeasy gives me VOIP, unlimited domestic and international long-distance, and high-speed broadband, for about $150 a month. Sure I could pay less, and yes, it was a major hassle to get it connected because the corporate telcoms control the actual wiring that would get Speakeasy's technology to my house. But it's been five years now...with only a couple of blips. I love Speakeasy--and encourage you to support it...the way you might buy organic food....sure you pay more, but you know it's not tainted with toxins.
I'll stop here, because I know you're buzzin' from Obama and probably won't read this any way. But seriously, if something isn't done to stop this obstruction now, history will look back on this time and note that the launch overwhelming grassroots movement overshadowed what could ultimately be the end of it--and any others like it. And what a tragic irony that would be for all.
]]>In a piece from the Daily News, Ferraro offers today insights into what HIllary's women really want. Clue: Like all women--they are much more complex than anyone could image. But their desire for relevance is very much the same:
"It seems to me there are now three distinct groups of Hillary Clinton supporters.
]]>The first are the PUMAs - which, as everyone now knows, stands for "Party Unity My A--." For them - and over the last two weeks I have received hundreds of letters from women who consider themselves PUMAs - nothing Hillary could say or do would move them. They are livid at the sexist way that Hillary was treated by the media, and even angrier at the Obama people, the Democratic National Committee and Howard Dean as chairman, for not speaking up against it....
A second group of Clinton supporters is those who chose her over Obama but who consider themselves good Democrats and will vote for the nominee....
That leaves the middle group. These are the women (and in smaller numbers, men) to whom Hillary was reaching out in her speech. They were on the fence; some of them remain there. They were disappointed when she didn't win the nomination and let down further when she wasn't chosen, apparently wasn't even seriously considered, to be Obama's running mate....
Mike Gravel:
Is mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore. At least someone isn't
Chris Dodd:
]]>Mike Gravel:
Is mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore. At least someone isn't
Chris Dodd:
Knows even his Senate salary won't pay for his kid's college education.
John Edwards:
Likes Gays better than Hillary Clinton's coat. (And it was a pretty gay coat.)
Hillary Cinton:
Knows better than to judge a leader by their hair, er, what they wear.
Barack Obama:
Will make a wonderful Ambassador of Hope.
Bill Richardson:
Is clearly qualified enough to be President and knows it.
Joe Biden:
Is a widower. Who knew??
Dennis Kuchinich:
Doesn't have a HOT daughter. That's his WIFE!
Anderson Cooper:
Beneath that sterling aristocratic veneer is a bona fide smart ass.
CNN:
Tens years after the birth of blogs, the world’s ‘most trusted news source’ finally trusts "˜the internets." Now...how long before they ruin it for everybody??
The American People:
Are a LOT smarter and self-aware than the Mainstream Media or Washington ever led us to believe.
Note to Google/You Tube: Develop a REAL voting system NOW!!!
]]>In the summer of 2004, Josh was a grad student at Parsons in New York. Anticipating the upcoming Republican National Convention, Josh and his group Bikes Against Bush hit the road. He wired up a bike with a laptop, cell phone, tubes and powered chalk. He then used it to spray messages emailed to the laptop from people around the country on the streets of New York.
]]>In the summer of 2004, Josh was a grad student at Parsons in New York. Anticipating the upcoming Republican National Convention, Josh and his group Bikes Against Bush hit the road. He wired up a bike with a laptop, cell phone, tubes and powered chalk. He then used it to spray messages emailed to the laptop from people around the country on the streets of New York.
While demonstrating his bike during a taped interview that occurred August 28th on MSNBC, Kinberg was arrested for criminal mischief. He—and more than 200 other bicyclists who didn’t have chalk-rigged bikes—spent a day in the klink. (You can watch the original report on Josh's video blog listed below.)
What Josh didn’t know until Jim Dwyer of New York Tmes told him last week, was that prior to his arrest, a newly launched intelligence division of the NYPD had been tailing Kinberg. With information taken from a secret file dated July 22, 2004, Dwyer told Kinberg that officers had tracked him, photographed him and put together four pages of “intelligence.â€
Also according to the Times, protesters who had traveled from outside the state received such surveillance as well. The officers infiltrated their social groups, documented their lives, and filed similar reports.
Now you can say this was 2004, and the RNC, and all that post 911 stuff. But let’s put this into context:
No one was allowed to approach Madison Square Garden during the RNC without accreditation. A protest area—which was relatively small and entirely fenced in—was located blocks away from the venue. Regardless of what any one could say—they wouldn’t be seen, let alone, heard.
So that Josh Kinberg had the gumption to mobilize and distribute the varied opinions of Americans on the streets of New York—in water soluable chalk, mind you—further verifies how reactionary the state of law enforcement had become.
I’m struck by this because Josh is a friend. One of the most amazing young men you’ll ever know. He’s also a member of our community.
Watch his video blog to recount the entire episode.
Rocketboomfeatures Josh's own report. It goes without saying that all charges against Josh were dropped the following January.
I don’t think Josh will be the last friend to learn in the coming years that he’s been tracked. Josh certainly isn’t the first video blogger to experience this. Meet his friend, Josh Wolf.
We like to say that in this post 911 world having nothing to hide means you have nothing to worry about. But what if it happens to you? Or someone you know?
It makes all the difference, doesn’t it?
P.S. New York City often complains about the lack of federal funding it gets for anti terrorism resources. So it’s even stranger they would use these very resources to tail and record someone like Josh. I don’t want to cop bash here…but you have to appreciate the latest update from the Times:
]]>The spraying apparatus — not the bicycle — was held for more than a year before being returned; Mr. Kinberg says the authorities have still not returned his bicycle.
At a time when bloggers should be banding together to out this rancid puke and ‘self police,’ many are turning on one another, even boycotting the web altogether.
It's as if The Monsters on Maple Street are now wreaking havoc on the blogosphere.
Ms. Sierra, and whomever else has experienced this harassment, has a right to respond, and expect the community to take a stand. Don Park's entry on the subject seems to do just that. So does Tim Bray's. And it goes without saying that the Scobles have earned their week off.
Ultimately, however, this is about power. And some of the sidebars and infighting are just letting the little $*#ks win.
Remember Rod Sterling (who would have been mayor of the blogosphere were he alive):
]]>"The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts... attitudes... prejudices. To be found only in the minds of men [and even women.]
For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy, and the thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is... that these things cannot be confined to... The Twilight Zone."
Is Viral Video is a more deadly contagion than Bird Flu? Slate's Slate's John Dickerson tackles it here.
]]>Is Viral Video is a more deadly contagion than Bird Flu? Slate's Slate's John Dickerson tackles it here.
Or, as Lanny Davis claims (don't worry I'm not giving the MSM guys all the print): Are Liberals the 21st Century Bigots?
OR...Have FireDogLake and Kos helped or hurt the reputation of liberal bloggers?
ORRR....double header here: WHAT has happened to the Democrat Party, and Why is Karl Rove Wetting His Pants??
Okay--DISCUSS!
]]>The people of Mississippi must feel very relieved to know that the options for women receiving family planning has become EVEN MORE DIFFICULT.
]]>The people of Mississippi must feel very relieved to know that the options for women receiving family planning has become EVEN MORE DIFFICULT.
Whatever happened to Just Say No?
]]>So now as the United States contemplates whether to militarily engage with Iran, one has to ask: How did the the Post 9/11 plan of attack make it's way to Syria and Iran--by way of Afghanistan and Iraq--when in reality, the issue has always been about Israel?
Therecertainly weren't many September 11ths during the near 30 years of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts in the region. Though some would say that the 1983 Beirut Bombing was an overlooked September 11th of its very own.
The Bush Administration's first term had it's eye on mideast peace under Colin Powell. As then Secretary of State, he successfully thwarting an-all-out war in April, 2002, when Ariel Sharon literally sent the Israeli Military to Yassar Arafat's front door.
But it was at that very press conference that co-negotiator Shimon Peres indicated--then--why the current conflict in Lebanon makes the whole situation so grave.
"The tranquilization in the north. ... The tension reached a very dangerous point. It was almost like destroying the last hope for a controlled situation in the Middle East. It was very close to escape the control of all people. And I think, since the visit of the Secretary to Syria, we can see now a quiet north."
Since then, the Good Doctor Rice and her State Department, have had a Middle East strategy that pales--and oh yes, I said pales--to either that of her predecessor, or the Clinton Administration, or any other administration years back.
What's the key philosophical difference? The neocons of the White House prefer to treat the symptons rather than find a cure. As indicated in a March, 2004 State Department briefing, Dr. Rice says:
The President believes "that you have to go after state sponsors; that you have to deal with weapons of mass destruction states; that you can't let a source of instability like Iraq remain in the Middle East as a kind of brewing threat; and that ultimately, you need a forward strategy for freedom in the Middle East itself, because until you change the politics of the Middle East, people are going to keep flying airplanes into things. And so that's really, in part, what this debate is about. Is it just law enforcement, Afghanistan and bin Laden? Or is it broader than that. ...
"And so in this President's mind, the kinds of questions that people were talking about prior to 9/11 essentially no longer exist.
-Sigh-
The problem with this rational is that the children being raised in Arab countries don't forget what they are experiencing first hand. According to ABC Reporter David Wright:
"These children believe Israel and the United States are trying to kill them. They say Hezbollah, which runs the shelter, is there to help them. 'Because they help us and don't want us to die,' one 10-year-old said.
This is not meant to be an anti-Israel rant on my part (though I admit it must seem that way.) Instead, it's really about a crime of neglect--six years of neglect. Even Shimon Peres warned back in 2002:
"We cannot permit a lull in the situation. ... It cannot end as it is. And we expect the continuation of the diplomatic, security, economic, and humanitarian activities, both by sending a representative of the United States in the near future, and we hope also the return of the Secretary to the region in due course, and also by nominating somebody to have a look how to offer immediate help to the Palestinian people, economically and otherwise. ...
"I believe even if we have some more warnings about terror, we shouldn't fall into the trap of just handling the situation military, but also offer a parallel line for negotiations and hope."
So now, as Dr. Rice attempts to complicate things even more, by asking--just last month--that the Senate Foreign Relations approve $75 million to help the State Department reform Iran's secular youth, let's remember what a militarily-enforced democracy established.
Then, let's remember Dr. Rice's very own words:
]]>"I frankly felt that we were blind and deaf at the time of September 11th and that our highest obligation was not to be blind and deaf again."
But let's be honest: What do we as Americans really know of the situation from the Arab point of view?Here, without appointing blame, are some insights, and even solutions, from those in and of the Arab World.
]]>But let's be honest: What do we as Americans really know of the situation from the Arab point of view?Here, without appointing blame, are some insights, and even solutions, from those in and of the Arab World.
First, the situation, from a BlogHer in Beirut. (Yes, it loads very slowly. I think everyone is starting to respond to this blog.)
Next, one of 25,000 Americans living in Beirut. Don’t let the the blog's name fool you.
Not a blogger, but a true gentleman and scholar, The Beirut Daily Star’s Rami Khouri, offers the more in-depth explanation.
Finally some solutions. First, a view of the secular, pro-free-speech aspects of Iranians, who blog from within the regime daily, and one--Hossein Derakshan--who currently blogs in exile from Paris. Remember, many--including the Cowboy Diplomat-in-Chief--are calling on Syria--and Iran--to stop end the funding of Hezbollah.
Perhaps, if we connect the fledgling, yet oppressed reformist movement of Iran, along with Shiias throughout the region, it's Iran--not Iraq--that is the provides the solution to the current crisis both in Iraq, and Lebanon.
Here, Iranian-born, yet American-raised political scientist, Vali Nasr offers insights into how violence in Iraq can be solved. Then take into consideration that Shiites are the same people who have growing influence in Iran. Use Lebanon as a metaphor for Iraq, and you may have some of the most important insights to date. Particularly here:
"Shiites account for about 90 percent of Iranians, some 70 percent of the people living in the Persian Gulf region, and approximately 50 percent of those in the arc from Lebanon to Pakistan -- some 140 million people in all. Many, long marginalized from power, are now clamoring for greater rights and more political influence."
What that influence is, remains undefined. However, as Hoder as said, young Iran loves their blue jeans and pop music as much as any one. But do they have the ability to stop whomever, or whatever, is enacting terror abroad?
Did the United States try to democratize the wrong country? In the Middle East, is Iran not the problem--but the solution?
]]>If you don't know the whole story, start at the bottom here.
What do the two have in common now? About as much as North Korea has with the rest of the world:
1) Six-Party Talks.
Whether it be the NY Times, the WaPo, the Chicago Tribune...or even--according to some rumors--the Today Show--everybody's booming, except, Andrew and Amanda. It is SO US v. North Korea!!
Instead the two are letting the medium be the message with THIS and THIS as their method of communication for all of us to share.
2) A Failed Long-Range Missile.
Baron says he'll resume vodcasts on Monday, July 10th. And Rocketboom--like any ruthless northeast media organization--has already found it's replacement in Joanna Colan. Yes, Amanda, imitation is the finest form of flattery!
Meanwhile, Congdon says she's in Connecticut (A strange route to LA if you ask me.) And you bet she's fielding offers!
3) Further Alienation from the Western World...or in this case--the mainstream media.
Sure they're throwing as many offers as they can at Amanda, but the reality is, MSM doesn't get Congdon ('too quirky,' 'Rocketboom: 'What's that?'' or 'We'll pass...for now.") And the media that is trying to get her is THE VERY CORPORATE MEDIA SHE DOESN'T LIKE!
Note: Amanda, honey, a blog post on some Netscape exec's personal site isn't real to the Time Warner lawyers!
4) Fodder for the late-night, er...wait...internet comic industry? And ah....the American Idol crowd? And also a bunch of schmucks with too much time on their hands!
Will RocketBoom survive without Amanda? ..Will Amanda survive without Rocketboom...?
My take? (as a veteran--gasp!--crony of the media biz) Well, Ms. Congdon is on her way to becoming a mainstream media babe. And while that could mean tremendous success, all of us know, dancing with the devil can sometimes get you burned. They'll fix the quirks, stop the wierd-ass keyboard slaps, and have her loathing her blackberry before you know it.
So, for quality of life sake, I'll say, Advantage Andrew. Because regardless of whether Rocketboom was or wasn't making money, Andrew won't have to be charming, connected, microanalyzed, or have to show his nice boobs, while being a perpetual size 2, to remain relevant in the vlogosphere.
Also, it IS a white man's world--even when that's largely the old-school blogosphere.
So Ms. Congdon sit on your hands, take Steve Rubel seriously, and let the lawyers do the vlogging. And expect a Will-and-Grace-style Andy-Mandy reunion on YouTube soon.
P.S. Also, AC, wish your successor the best. First, because sisters should never squabble. And second, like the lesson the Americans need to prove to the North Koreans: Nobody wins when at global thermonuclear war.
]]>Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee failed to protect internet access from being unhindered by corporate interests in an 11-11 vote. The Snowe-Dorgan proposal would have prohibited internet service providers and other telecommunication companies from discriminating against content or other web sites.
]]>Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee failed to protect internet access from being unhindered by corporate interests in an 11-11 vote. The Snowe-Dorgan proposal would have prohibited internet service providers and other telecommunication companies from discriminating against content or other web sites.
What does this mean? IF the Senate approves a current bill that has already passed the House—and Mr. Bush signs it—the telecommunications industry will control who gets access to what on the web.
Don’t believe me?
Get your DSL from Bell South? Do a search on their search browser. By the way, it’s not your imagination that your cursor automatically shifted to Bell South’s home page browser, even though you tried to use your Google search tool bar first.
Now, search the phrase “net neutrality.�
Whaddaya get? The first search you get is a link to www.handsofftheinternet.com, the so-called ‘grassroots’ organization trying to “keep the internet unregulated.� What it really is is the telecommunications industry lobby site.
“Hands off the Internet� wants hands off all right: YOUR hands. It’s all about giving telecos the opportunity to decide who gets to do what—and from the highest bidder. Period. End of story.
Are you still confused? (Because the telcos have done all they can to confuse you, so don’t feel bad.)
Rocketboom explains it best.
So does Robert Cringely
And here are Craig Newmark's thoughts.
Cory Doctrow brilliantly calls it: Neutricide
Now you’re saying “TAS, if this is such a big deal, why haven’t we heard from Meg Whitman, or Sergey Brin or…Jeff Bezos.�
I dunno. But I will say this. Ebay, Amazon and Google have the war chest to pony up and partner with any internet service provide/telco to get priority access in search.
You and I—and certainly sites like BlogHer do not.
Craig Newmark
is getting personally attacked for siding with the ‘little guys’ on this issue. That's because Craig of craig's list doesn’t really care about the money he’s not making by going public or being acquired.This is a 'making my favorite websites run slower' issue.
This is a 'threat to your pocketbook issue.'
MOST OF ALL: THIS IS A FIRST-AMENDMENT ISSUE:
SIGN THE PETITION
CALL THE WHITE HOUSE NOW.
TELL THEM: VOTE AGAINST THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILL AND KEEP THE INTERNET NEUTRAL!
]]>Her situation should NEVER downplay the affect AIDS has had on the gay, hemophiliac or IV-drug user communities by any means. On the other hand, the admission by this brave, strong leader in the Poz community will bring a much-needed dose of reinvigoration to the next generation in AIDS awareness.
]]>Meanwhile, my personal American Idol is Mrs. Rick Warren, as in wife of Rick, who wrote 'The Purpose-Driven Life.'
"Redeem from the sin of prejudice", says Mrs. Warren, who challenged members of her husband's flock tthis past November to listen to the 'disturbing voices' that discuss AIDS, poverty, homelessness, etc. Here she uses CNN's Commentary Forum to ask Christians nationally to do the same.
Memo to Washington: Now THIS is Compassionate Conservativism!