| Daily Show on Net Neutrality again |
[Jul. 20th, 2006|04:20 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Cypress Hill - Illusiones | ] |
Yesterday, the Daily Show had another segment on Net Neutrality. The did a good job of explaining the basic principle and why it's a good thing, and as usual, made it humorous to watch :)
The clip can be found at youtube: Daily Show on Net Neutrality
For those of you that can't be bothered to watch this item without some basic summary (you know who you are :) ), here's an excerpt from the transcript:
John Hodgman: “The point is with Net Neutrality all these packets, whether they come from a big company or just a single citizen, are treated in the exact same way.
Jon Stewart: So what’s the debate? That actually seems quite fair.
Hodgman: Yes, Almost too fair. It’s as though the richer companies get no advantage at all.
There, interested now? Good, now go watch the video. |
|
|
| Poking holes in the Telco arguments against Net Neutrality |
[Jun. 23rd, 2006|04:20 pm] |
Savetheinternet.com is reporting about a debate between our old friend (heheh) Mike McCurry (of the telco-funded "Hands off the Internet") and Paul Misener (of Amazon.com). According to the blog post over at savetheinternet.com, entitled Telco Argument Implodes During DC Debate, Mr. Misener didn't have much trouble defusing the non-factual and non-logical arguments against Net Neutrality that the Telcos and their lobbiests like to spew forth. There's a video of the entire debate, but I unfortunately haven't been able to watch yet (stupid windows media.... and quicktime... what's a .qtl..?).
Anyone with an interest in keeping the 'net free and open should check out the article.
One last thing from me; to anyone that doesn't understand the debate yet, here's a quick summary:
Net Neutrality proponents:
- keep the internet the way it is
- keep telco's and other service providers from discriminating against content based on its source
- don't care if people get charged more for more bandwidth (again, this is how it's always been), as long as they are free to use that bandwidth to visit whatever sites they want, without someone else deciding which sites run better
Net Neutrality opponents:
- generally have a financial interest in net discrimination (big telcos and other big ISPs)
- have clearly stated numerous times their intent to discriminate content, based on who pays them more (yes, the CEO's of the big telcos have already stated their intentions to do this, ie "Yahoo should be able to pay us to have their site load faster than Google")
- like to say things like "if we degraded service our customers would go somplace else". That would be all well and good, if there was anywhere else to go (most households in the US have one choice for broadband. those that have 2 have the choice between the duopoly members - cable or telco)
- talk about "a solution in search of a problem". Ok, the reason it's not a problem yet is because it's currently illegal However, these laws are set to expire sometime in the near future, so w/out enforcable Net Neutrality laws to take their place, it gives the providers complete control to do whatever the hell they please...
So basically the only people that are opposed to net neutrality are the people with financial motives, the ones that stand to gain from having net neutrality erased from the internet. I say "erased from the internet" because it's been there already for as long as the internet has been around, but changes to recent laws and FCC bs are threatening that. Coupled with mergers and consolidation amount telcos and there really isn't much of a "competitive market" out there either...
One final note... I wonder if a paid blog-scouring astroturfer will reply to this post quickly too, like the last time I blog'd on net neutrality? |
|
|
| Some interesting New Orleans satellite imagery |
[May. 26th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Quarashi - Stick 'Em Up | ] |
I was looking around on teh Intarwebs today for some satellite imagery of New Orleans that showed the difference before/after Katrina. I found this site: New Orleans / 2005 Hurricane Katrina that has some pretty interesting photos showing the before/after differences from satellite. Pretty interesting for sure... |
|
|
| Net Neutrality again |
[May. 25th, 2006|04:20 am] |
| [ | music |
| | KMFDM - New American Century | ] |
Here we go again... There's an article at the Wall Street Journal detailing an email debate between a telco lobbyist and the founder of Craigslist. The Craigslist guy is for net neutrality, the telco lobbyist is obviously against it..
Reading the stuff that the telco lobbyist is saying, I notice a couple big problems. Starting off, he doesn't appear to know much if anything about the technology that he's lobbying congress to pass laws about. That seems like a problem to me. Even bigger problem is that most likely the congresscritters know even less about the technology than he does. Next, he says numerous times that they aren't interested in discriminating against anyone's content, just prioritizing some high-paying content. Let me say this once and for all, because this is just the way that QoS works: You can't prioritize some traffic without degrading ALL THE REST OF THE TRAFFIC. Sorry, but that's just the way it is. You only have x amount of bandwidth in the pipe, and if you've given 1/2 of that x to one application, that only leaves the other half for everything else. Sure, you could argue that QoS only goes into effect when the entire pipe is being used, but still... that's making all the other traffic share 1/2 the bandwidth they had before (in my example) in the event that the pipe is maxed to capacity (and we know that telco's/ISP's never over-sell their bandwidth, right? :) )
Well anyway, here's the article: WSJ: Should the Net Be Neutral?
I recommend anyone that's concerned aboot what's going on w/the Internet in the U.S. to read the article... good info (and mis-info from the telco guy...) |
|
|
| The History of the U.S. DEA |
[May. 24th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Disturbed - The Game | ] |
Found a great article relating the (abhorrent) history of the U.S. DEA, and their ineffective "War on Drugs", which is really a war on personal freedom and property rights. Check out the article and be enlightened: The History of the DEA
The more people realize the falsehoods that the DEA spews out and regard them as such, the better off the U.S. will be. I urge everyone to read this article, regardless of your stand on the "war on drugs", it's a very eye-opening read into what exactly the DEA really does, and the lengths to which they'll go to push their "holier than thou" agenda. |
|
|
| Liberty vs Tyranny, NOT Security vs Privacy |
[May. 19th, 2006|05:04 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | KMFDM - attak-reload | ] |
Bruce Schneier, noted Security Expert, has authored a piece for Wired news entitled "The Eternal Value of Privacy". He addresses the "If you're not doing anything wrong, then what are you worried about" defense that the fearmongers like to use to justify their surveillance programs, and goes even further than that. He has a lot of good things to say... Basically, he puts forth a very well written argument as to why that mentality is fundamentally flawed, and completely opposite of the values and ideas that the United States was founded on.
To sum it up: Too many wrongly characterize the debate as "security versus privacy." The real choice is liberty versus control. Tyranny, whether it arises under threat of foreign physical attack or under constant domestic authoritative scrutiny, is still tyranny. Liberty requires security without intrusion, security plus privacy. Widespread police surveillance is the very definition of a police state. And that's why we should champion privacy even when we have nothing to hide.
I would suggest this as a good read to anyone that cares about what's happening in the once great nation now known as the Corporate States of America. |
|
|
| US Gov't watching reporters call records looking for leaks |
[May. 15th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil | ] |
A "federal source" has apparently told some people over at ABC news that the U.S. government is using all this wonderful (and illegal) wiretapping that the NSA is doing to watch reporters phone records to look for leaks. In other words, silence critics and plug what they consider "holes". Really, it sounds like they aren't happy with some of the things that the press is reporting, and now they're using their illegal records to try to track down these horrible people that are making the public aware of what's really going on.
That's strange too, because I could have sworn that they government just finished telling us that they were only using the (illegal, unconstituional) domestic wiretapping to spy on "suspected terrorists". I guess anyone that says info that they don't want getting out to the press is considered a suspected terrorist then? |
|
|
| google bomb strikes W again |
[May. 8th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
Well, looks like bloggers and the 'net community has done it again. In addition to the "miserable failure" google bomb (type miserable failure into google, press "i'm feeling lucky if you don't know what I'm talking about), we know have another one. If you type "asshole" into google, and hit "i'm feeling lucky", you'll get to someone else's feelings about W :)
Go ahead, give it a try. (This isn't the feeling lucky results, but as you can see, the top link is...... :) ) |
|
|
| Original Theatrical Star Wars Trilogy to be released on DVD |
[May. 4th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Godsmack - Voodoo | ] |
Well, it's finally going to happen... Lucasfilm has announced that they will be releasing the original theatrical releases of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD this September. They'll be released as 2 disk sets, and will include both the "updated" 2004 release, and the original theatrical release. This is great news for anyone that's tired of seeing Greedo shoot first :)
It makes me wonder though... how many times am I going to end up buying these same movies?? :) I think I've already bought the trilogy at least three times, so if I purchase these too (which I'm leaning towards), that'll make this the fourth purchase of the same movies... Also unfortunate is that the original theatrical releases will only include Dolby Digital 2.0, instead of the 5.1 surround that we have on the new "updated" releases.... Personally, I'd really like it if they had the original film (with Han shooting Greedo before he has a chance to act), with updated sound so that I could enjoy the original movie but still benefit from the advanced re-mastered surround sound.
Hmmm... maybe they'll do that next year so that I can buy the movies again for the fifth time :D
Oh, I almost forgot, here's the press release from starwars.com: This September: Original Unaltered Trilogy on DVD.
And currently on the starwars.com homepage, they have a nice graphic about the new release, and they even put in there "See Han Solo shoot first." heh. |
|
|
| US seeks to dismiss EFF's AT&T Survellience Suit |
[May. 2nd, 2006|04:20 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Pink Floyd - Shine on You Crazy Diamond | ] |
Remember that lawsuit that the EFF filed against AT&T a little bit ago? Alleging that they had conspired w/the NSA to send wholesale internet, phone, and who knows what else traffic to the NSA? Well, guess what? The U.S. Government is Seeking to get the case dismissed.
Now, using the same twisted logic that the US Gov't uses to "justify" its spying on its own citizens, one has to wonder: "if they're not doing anything wrong, what do they have to hide?" Don't you just love it when someone's mis-logic can be turned back around on them?
Ok, even if I don't use their twisted logic, this still seems a little odd to me. Once again they don't provide any other information other than "national security", which it seems nowadays is just a way for the US government to say "shhh. Don't worry, we know what's best for you. Trust us, really. Wait, what's that you say about corruption and pandering to corporations? Hey, look over there! Terrorists! Alert level Red!!" :)
Here's the full story (what much of it there is) at the LA Times: U.S. Wants Groups's AT&T Suit Dismissed |
|
|
| New technology promises easier biodiesel than ever |
[May. 1st, 2006|04:20 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Johnny Cash - Sixteen Tons | ] |
At Oregon University, they're working on a new device that they describe as a "tiny reactor" for converting vegetable oil into biodiesel. They say it's "about the size of a credit card", and if it works like they hope/envision, it could revolutionalize the biodiesel industry. This is just the sort of thing that has been needed to bring biodiesel more into the mainstream: An easy way for small companies or individuals to create their own biodiesel. If this does pan out... I can see the oil co's shaking in their boots (or possibly legislating somehow to get it banned :P)
Article here at wired: Teeny Reactor Pumps Out BioDiesel |
|
|
| It's the Colbert Report! |
[May. 1st, 2006|04:20 pm] |
Stephen Colbert had the opportunity to speak at the White House Correspondents Dinner a few days ago. In true "Colbert Report" style, he performed somewhat of a "roast" of the president and the press. Not neccessarily as side-splittingly funny as some of the bits on his show, but interesting nonetheless simply for who he's giving the presentation to. Some of the best part of his performance is the reaction of the crowd with their stoic faces as they try not to laugh or be amused :)
Some people have set up a web site at thankyoustephencolbert.org that has links to some articles talking about it, and links to 3 videos on youtube that cover his performance.
I really don't know what these people are thinking when they book him as their entertainment :D Maybe it's some weird reverse-psychology thing, like if they show that they're willing to take the criticism too then people will forget that there is criticism? Who knows... |
|
|
| Ed Rosenthal's Federal Convictions Overturned |
[Apr. 27th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
Well, some good news finally from cannabis culture: Ed Rosenthal's Federal Convictions Overturned! If you remember, Ed was arrested .. well, I don't even remember when, but anyway, he was arrested for growing medical marijuana. The kicker was that he was authorized by the state government to grow said medical marijuana. But the feds didn't like that, so they busted him and tried to send him to prison... well, it didn't quite work out that way.
Go Ed! |
|
|
| Between the RIAA and a Hard Place |
[Apr. 25th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
I found this nice piece over at the Recording Industry Vs the People Blog. It's a paper written by a 20ish student @ a community college in Ohio, and he seems to hit the nail right on the head with his piece entitled Between the RIAA and a Hard Place. I've gotten in many a discussion w/people over the current state of copyright (and how it's been perverted to serve the corporations rather than the public good) and the recording industry, and many times I've been asked why I get so upset about the type of things they're doing (or trying to do). Well, this guy sums it up pretty well... what upsets me is what I see coming, if they get their way. It's not what america is supposed to be, that's for sure...
read up, if you'd like.... |
|
|
| savetheinternet.com |
[Apr. 25th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Staind - Mudshovel | ] |
If you haven't heard anything about Net Neutrality yet, here's the gist of it:
the big telcos are currently lobbying congress to update the telecom act(s) to allow them to provide different levels of service (based on who pays more). What this means is that if they get their way, your ISP could block access to sites that they don't like, or at least degrade performance to them. This is bad because given this power, they could use it to silence their critics (block them to their subscribers), or to degrade competitors products to stifle the competition with their own product (like with VOIP), among other things. (this would be contrary to Net Neutrality -- Net Neutrality is the way the internet currently works)
Well there's a group that's been formed to oppose this legislation, and I think you should check out what they have to say: savetheinternet.com. If you're so inclined to tell the people in washington, they even have a section on the website that allows you to send your thoughts to your respective congresscritters (assuming you live in the us).
that is all. |
|
|
| DMCA not being used for what it was intended for (imagine that!) |
[Apr. 18th, 2006|05:25 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Clutch - Escape From the Prison Planet | ] |
The EFF has a paper about how the DMCA isn't being used for what it was supposedly intended to be used for. In fact, it's being used for exactly the things that the people opposed to the DMCA said that it could be used for, but were assured by the bill's backers that "don't worry, we won't do that". And now, seven years later, it seems that more often than not, it's not being used to "help stop piracy", but instead it's used to stifle competition, free speech, scientific research, and more..
Read on: EFF: Unintended Consequences: Seven Years Under the DMCA
(I disagree that the consequences were "unintended", however. I believe that the creators of the bill knew full well what it could be used for, and that's why it was written so broadly in the first place.) |
|
|
| Constitution...? What Constitution? |
[Apr. 7th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is filing a lawsuit against AT&T alleging that they are giving over internet traffic to the NSA wholesale. They have presented evidence to support their claims, which is currently sealed...
This is not only illegal according to various wiretapping laws, it also violates a little thing that most americans have forgotten about -- The Constitution of the United States of America. Remember that little document? The politicians in Washington sure would like it if you forgot it .. :)
Article at BBR: EFF Continues AT&T Assault
And more info can currently be found on the EFF's news page (though it will probably get further down the list as time goes by..): EFF Breaking News |
|
|
| South Park vs Scientology: Round 2 -- FIGHT! |
[Mar. 30th, 2006|04:20 pm] |
Ok, so the "trapped in the closet" episode of south park last year was one of my favorites ever.. And this season, they've continued on that theme after the falling out w/Isaac Hayes over that episode... And from what the SP guys have said, it sounds like they aren't done yet :)
Here's an article w/some more info (my favorite part is the press release they issued through their lawyer -- I love those guys :) )
Parker, Stone Respond to Pulling of 'South Park' Episode
And if anyone hasn't seen the original "trapped in the closet" episode, it is now available from the wonderful site known as Operation Clambake (apparently under permission from Trey and Matt, which isn't too suprising, since they already said long ago that they were happy that people downloaded their episodes) |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
quizzibuq's journal