Year: 2007

Why Network Neutrality Matters

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AT&T censored anti-Bush lyrics on a webcast by Pearl Jam. This is why we want to put net neutrality into law.

Note: I am quoting the press release in its entirety, because permission is implied by posting a press release.

LOLLAPALOOZA WEBCAST: SPONSORED/CENSORED BY AT&T?

08.08.07
After concluding our Sunday night show at Lollapalooza, fans informed us that portions of that performance were missing and may have been censored by AT&T during the “Blue Room” Live Lollapalooza Webcast.

When asked about the missing performance, AT&T informed Lollapalooza that portions of the show were in fact missing from the webcast, and that their content monitor had made a mistake in cutting them.

During the performance of “Daughter” the following lyrics were sung to the tune of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” but were cut from the webcast:

– “George Bush, leave this world alone.” (the second time it was sung); and

– “George Bush find yourself another home.”

This, of course, troubles us as artists but also as citizens concerned with the issue of censorship and the increasingly consolidated control of the media.

AT&T’s actions strike at the heart of the public’s concerns over the power that corporations have when it comes to determining what the public sees and hears through communications media.

Aspects of censorship, consolidation, and preferential treatment of the internet are now being debated under the umbrella of “NetNeutrality.” Check out The Future of Music or Save the Internet for more information on this issue.

Most telecommunications companies oppose “net neutrality” and argue that the public can trust them not to censor..

Even the ex-head of AT&T, CEO Edward Whitacre, whose company sponsored our troubled webcast, stated just last March that fears his company and other big network providers would block traffic on their networks are overblown..

“Any provider that blocks access to content is inviting customers to find another provider.” (Marguerite Reardon, Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: March 21, 2006, 2:23 PM PST).

But what if there is only one provider from which to choose?

If a company that is controlling a webcast is cutting out bits of our performance -not based on laws, but on their own preferences and interpretations – fans have little choice but to watch the censored version.

What happened to us this weekend was a wake up call, and it’s about something much bigger than the censorship of a rock band.

The complete version of “Daughter” from the Lollapalooza performance will be posted here soon for any of you who missed it. We apologize to our fans who were watching the webcast and got shortchanged. In the future, we will work even harder to ensure that our live broadcasts or webcasts are free from arbitrary edits.

If you have examples of AT&T censoring artist performances around political content, it’s a good thing for everyone to know about. Feel free to post examples on the official Pearl Jam Message Pit.

The Communist Party is Alive and Well in Kansas

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Kansas????

Yes, Kansas. The State GOP there has formed loyalty committee.

TOPEKA – The state Republican Party is forming a loyalty committee so that it can punish officers who endorse or contribute to Democrats.

…

The state committee’s actions struck a sour note for some Republicans, particularly moderates on issues such as abortion. Bob Beatty, a Washburn University political scientist, suggested the loyalty committee could prove a “public relations disaster.”

“Ironically, it smacks most of the Communist Party,” Beatty said Monday. “That’s the kind of public irony that most parties try to avoid — the party of freedom telling people they have no freedom.”

Gee. You think????? Josef Stalin is laughing in hell.

And, Kobach said, the grounds for removing someone from office are fairly narrow: They must publicly endorse or contribute to a non-Republican running in Kansas.

“This rule will operate primarily as a deterrent,” Kobach said. “My anticipation is that once the rule is in effect, you won’t see too many elected party leaders engaging in this kind of behavior.”

Vee must all Goose schtep in unison.*

But Andy Wollen, president of the Kansas Traditional Republican Majority, a moderate group, mused about the GOP creating a “grand high inquisitor.”

“When you hear the term loyalty committee, what runs through your mind?” he said. “Joseph McCarthy. George Orwell.”

Cloud supports the loyalty committee, even though he has run afoul of conservatives who dominate the party leadership.

He earned their public criticism for signing a fundraising letter for Wollen’s group in March, criticizing the party’s leadership and suggesting people give to the Kansas Traditional Republican Majority.

You know, in America, people are supposed to have the right to call their party leaders right wing nutcase wackjobs, particularly when they are right wing nutcase wackjobs.

If they could hook a dynamo to George Orwell’s grave, we’d power all of California.

*Yes, I know, mixing Nazis and Communist is a very mixed metaphor thing.

A Collection Economic Disaster News

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Home sales tumble in response to credit crunch. Just so you know, that’s what the National Association of Realtors is saying, so that’s the sunniest possible outlook.

Stocks tanked yesterday because a French Bank said that it had to freeze funds for lack of liquidity. Basically the meltdown is going global, and the securities that they hold are illiquid. They are not normally bought and sold, so there is no market for them.

When Bear Stearns funds went out for sale, they were getting less than 10 cents on the dollar as offers.

The European Currency Board (ECB) and the Federal Reserve have injected billions in liquidity to prevent a collapse. While this is not an extraordinary action for the Fed, this resembles things like the LTCM bailout, it is for the ECB.

The ECB’s scope is far narrower than that of the Fed. They are not charged with anything but controlling inflation, at German insistence (there are still a few Germans alive remember needing a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread).

Brian Beutler Discovers Journalism Still Exists.

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Brian Beutler found soome actual journalism the other day. He found an Agence France Presse story that not only says that Bush is not telling the truth, but it’s the lede.

Bush levels dubious Iran nuclear arms charge

Mon Aug 6, 5:18 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President George W. Bush charged Monday that Iran has openly declared that it seeks nuclear weapons — an inaccurate accusation at a time of sharp tensions between Washington and Tehran.

…

I’m not sure whether I should be heartened that this got reported and was in the first para, or whether I should be depressed because I find this remarkable.

Asimov did it first.

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This story about South Korea draws up code of ethics for robots is interesting.

Given that they already have autonomous robots patrolling the DMZ, and they are looking at the robotic equivalent of watch dogs, this makes sense.

The author however, is wrong when he states, “South Korea is writing a code of ethics for robots for the first time in the world as part of efforts to lift the robot industry.“

Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, the seminal work in this area, is well over 50 years old.

I Wonder if This is Simply PR from Boeing, Lockheed, and Sukhoi

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About a week ago, I blogged on the rumored sale 250 Sukhoi Su-30 multi role fighters to Iran.

Well now it appears that the US is going to be selling a s$@% load of military hardware in the region in order to provide a counterweight to rumored Iranian deal.

Maybe I’m being a cynic, but I’m beginning to think that Boeing, Lockheed, and Sukhoi are the ones spreading this rumor, as they all stand to gain a lot from the ensuing orgy of weapons procurement.

What Jonathan Singer Said

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He comments on the fact that Democratic investigations in the House and Senate have had the side effect of slowing the approvals of Bush Judicial Nominees.

However, an article on the front page of Wednesday’s Washington Post penned by Jerry Markon perhaps adds to the case that the investigations into Gonzales and the administration, more broadly, are bringing benefits — tangentially related, but related nonetheless — both to the Democratic Party and to the progressive movement. Specifically, as the Senate Judiciary Committee works on these and other investigations, it is not taking up potential judicial nominees sent to Capitol Hill by President Bush.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, long considered one of the nation’s most conservative appellate courts, is shifting to a moderate direction with the balance up for grabs. A growing list of vacancies — now five — has left the court evenly divided between Republican and Democratic appointees.

With an election year approaching, experts predict the court will tilt decisively to the left if Democrats keep control of Congress and reclaim the White House.

“There is a very good chance that this court will be solidly Democratic for many, many years,” said Arthur D. Hellman, a University of Pittsburgh law professor. He said the current 5-5 split — which began July 17 when Judge H. Emory Widener Jr., a Republican appointee, took semi-retirement — is “tremendously significant.”

To clarify, I’m not arguing that the Democrats pursue investigations of spurrious charges in order to slow the confirmation of ultra-conservative jurists. Far from it. But at the same time, the positive consequences that have come out of the fact that the Congress has been holding the Bush administration’s feet to the fire are not limited to a few subpoenas here and there, a few resignations here and there, and the truth beginning to come out. And if, as a result of these investigations appellate courts around the country do not shift to the right — or even shift to the left, as this article seems to indicate is the case with the fourth circuit — that’s not necessarily a bad thin.

Well said.

Hero Tells Bush: No Photo Op.

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Jeremy Hernandez saved the 50 children on the school bus during the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

As a result, Dunwoody College of Technology had offered him a full scholarship toward a degree in applied science. (Sounds like an associates degree.)

What’s more, he’s turned down a photo op with George Bush:

Mr. Hernandez was not available to comment on the offer; Ms. Schwartz said he left town for northern Minnesota late on Friday, overwhelmed by the attention and concerned that his co-workers were being overlooked. He spent the weekend fishing. When President Bush’s staff contacted him to request a photo opportunity, “He was just, like, ‘Nope,’ ” she said.

Props to him if he just doesn’t want to make too much out of this, humility is far too rare these days.

Double props if he decided that he did not want to shake hands with Bush.

Russia to export Worlds Most Capable Surface to Air Missile

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The S-400 is entering service with the Russian military, and they expect to begin exports in 2009.

It’s clear that they are looking at this to be a big seller. It should have some decent capabilities against stealthy aircraft, and it has good anti-cruise missile and anti-tactical ballistic missile capabilities.

Considering the range of the system (over 400km), it would be expected that it would be capable of engaging low radar cross section targets at a much shorter range.

Given that a conventional bomber would have a radar cross section in the 10m2 range, and detection range a function of 4th route of the RCS (i.e. a reduction of 32x in RCS will cut range by 1/2), you get potential detection ranges as follows, assuming 400km for the bomber.

Range
RCS
     Type
400 km
10m2
B-1, F-15
336 km
5m2
F-16
225 km
1m2
F-18E, Rafale
189 km
0.5 m2
Typhoon
48 km
0.00200m2
F-117 (WAG)
40 km
0.00100 m2
F-35
23 km
0.00010 m2
F-22, B2

So you are looking at something like a 15 mile detection range against the stealthiest targets.

Update: This range is for high frequency radars. The S-400 also has a VHF radar, which would diminish the effectiveness of stealth, to some (I don’t know what) degree.

Musharraf’s Days are Numbered

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There are now reports that Musharraf will declare a state of emergency.

This is about his attempt to delay elections, as his only remaining constituency is the army.

His negotiations with Benazir Bhutto have fallen through, the Supreme Court has reinstalled its chief justice and is reviewing the request of his ousted predecessor Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan.

Considering Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, and its descent into failing state status, this is of concern.

There is a 175 Foot 6 Year Old Who is Looking for His Toys

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These numbers are preliminary off the cuff calculations based on the size of the Giant Lego man found floating in the ocean off the Dutch coast.

When lifetime rolls around, there will be a critical shortage of both peanut butter and jelly throughout Holland.

The question is whether this was somehow a lost promotional display, or a wickedly funny practical joke.

My guess is the first, but I’m wishing for the 2nd.

The Vultures Have Arrived Looking for Dead Meat Investments.

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It appears that noted vulture investor Wilbur Ross is looking at the mortgage meltdown.

He’s made a fortune picking through the bones of failed steelmakers, textile mills and coal miners. Now billionaire investor Wilbur Ross is taking aim at another beleaguered industry: subprime mortgage lenders.

He took his first step on Monday by providing $50 million in debtor-in-possession financing for American Home Mortgage Corp (AHMIQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research), which filed for bankruptcy earlier in the day.

He buys things like coal mines and steel companies on the cheap, and resells them to people who kill coal miners and default on retirement and health insurance guarantees.

Lovely fellow, and he’ll have a lot of work in the immediate future.

756*

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Whatever Bonds has or has not done, he was and is a great player, as was Pete Rose.

Rose, however, crossed a line when he bet on baseball that Bonds has not, and so should not be in the hall of fame until after his death.