Rupert Murdoch Strikes Back

With DVRs, the satellites can upload movies in the middle of the night in encrypted form onto subscribers' hard discs without us having to do anything or even be aware of it.

Nothing wrong with that. Rupert is a lovable, trustworthy kind of guy.

Microsoft helps China to censor bloggers

With Rupert tooling up to beam down government-friendly messages 24/7 from space, and democracy-friendly CPC ruling the streets and meeting places with 30,000 internet police, there's a kind of hand-in-glove synergy that could work here.

What can get in the way of the likes of Microsoft being the dominant mediators of government policy, anywhere in the world? The alternative to proprietary software is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). There's an excellent article on patents, copyright laws, FOSS and the implications for democracy, at Centre for Independent Studies (of all places!).

From the ABC

Murdoch slams broadband speeds, tax rates
The chief of News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, says Australia's broadband Internet speeds are a disgrace.

Mr Murdoch has told shareholders in Adelaide that the nation is being left behind because of poor broadband Internet.

Mr Murdoch has also criticised Australia's tax system.

On broadband, he says the Federal Government and Telstra need to spend up to $12 billion to improve the network.

"I think broadband, I'm certain of it, is going to become ubiquitous around the world and if you don't have it you're left behind in people's use of the Internet and all the benefits that can come from that.

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Gus: couldn't agree more with him...

From this terrific article, SPENGLER : Halloween came late in Washington:

Why can't the "realists" make sense of reality, even when it clamps its jaws firmly upon their posteriors? Why is it that the king's magicians never seem to be able to read the fiery script on the wall? Belshazzar's magi could not read the words "Mene, mene, tekel, uparsin"; the king of Babylon had to call in an outside consultant, namely Daniel. By then it was too late. <p> The answer to the conundrum is that knowledge is existential. That is, we cannot easily imagine a world in which we will not exist because the world has no use for us. Self-styled power brokers of the James Baker ilk have no place in the world when power asserts itself in its naked form and there is nothing more to broker. The realists fancy themselves the general managers in a world of hierarchy, status and security. Replace these with insecurity and chaos, and there no longer is any need for such people. 

I think that piece belongs here, but I could be mistaken. ;) 

Imagine a world without the need for a manipulative pirate like Rupert Murdoch. If it exists, where can I buy a ticket? 

Right on T.G.... I was just stirring the plot. Mind you I would not mind a bit more speed on the internet and less procrastination on the refresh... but:

From The Guardian
Frost opens with Blair in al-Jazeera English launch
Owen Gibson and Oliver Burkeman
Wednesday November 15, 2006
The Guardian

Sir David Frost has [http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1948048,00.html|revealed how he investigated al-Jazeera]'s credentials with his own high-level contacts in Whitehall and Washington before agreeing to sign up to its long-delayed English language channel, which launches today.
In an interview in today's G2, Sir David, who is scheduled to welcome Tony Blair as the first guest to his show on Friday, said he initially had qualms about signing for the broadcaster after trenchant criticism from the American right.
"So I deliberately checked out, with Whitehall and with Washington, that there were no links with al-Qaida, for instance, that sort of thing," he said. "And it was not really a surprise that there were no such links, because Qatar, the proprietor of al-Jazeera, is also our most important ally in the Middle East."
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Gus: At least Al Jazeera is a conduit between the "west" and the "Arabic east"... The dialogue often does not do any favours to either but exposes the truth as Al Jazeera shoots from the hip... Al Jazeera represents the voice of moderate Islam, the voice that America is even trying to shut down. Does America needs extremism in this context, just to justify its "expansionism"? We'll see how the English televised version goes... The Al Jazeera website is often the source of better analysis of stuff.

What will the US look like in 2 years?

If the average American sniffs the wind of change and perceives the messages blowing in across the seas sound more and more like "Yankee go home", the next presidential campaign will be tempered by strident calls for isolationism. And, if troublemakers (good and bad) in Chad, Sudan, Congo, Burma, etc etc, sense the US is less inclined to interfere, expect higher risk of signal events that cause strong reactions. If the US bunkers down to resemble North Korea, expect a lot more explosions in the region of Israel-Palestine.

The outstanding monument given by the US to global culture may not be 'freedom 'n democracy', but a choice between a gigantic KFC logo and a massive wall to keep out Mexicans.

The old Fox hinted at the external drivers and internal mechanics of US isolationism, as noted in US ties stronger than they seem:

Mr Murdoch also attacked Washington's "addiction to agricultural subsidies and price supports". This raises a disturbing point. Australians who welcomed the rebuff Mr Bush and his Republicans suffered in last's week's midterm congressional elections may soon find that Iraq policy is not their only argument with Washington. The Democrats, who won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, are likely to prove even more protectionist than the Republicans, particularly now they have been provided with fresh anti-Australian ammunition by the Cole inquiry into AWB.

One of the more progressive members of Congress is Republican Rep Jeff Flake. Here he is with Bill Maher. He says some very compelling things, issues that feed into Murdoch's concerns. Flake says the recent Prescription Medicines Bill provided the pharmaceutical industry with $11 trillion that equates to unfunded liabilities for the government. He says the recent Farm Bill gives US farmers subsidies of $170 billion over 10 years. Flake is a (lonely) campaigner against the corrupting influence of "earmarks", the little sweeteners (ie pork) injected into Bills by Reps of all persuasion. The earmarks alone are worth $27 billlion (per annum?) but their greatest impact is on voting patterns. He says that a promise of, say $100k for a new bowling green, is enough to sway that Congressperson to vote for a massive outlay like the Medicines Bill. (See Rep. Flake On Cutting Congressional Pork and Think Again: An Earmark Full of Misdirection.)

From  As Guard Changes in Congress, Lobbyists Scramble :

Democratic lobbyists are fielding calls from pharmaceutical companies, the oil and gas industry and military companies, all of which had grown accustomed to patronizing Republicans, as the environment in Washington abruptly shifts.

Never mind, with all the money saved by withdrawing from Iraq, and oodles of cheap, fattening food, Americans may come to think Big Freakin' Laser Beams in Space are a good idea. I can see it - evil dude is about to lob grenade into kibbutz, red dot appears on his chest and voice booms out "Freeze, punk!". Just the thought of pain-free policing is enough to set off craving for another of the Colonel's finest. This way, and with Rupert's super-broadband in every home, members of the 102nd Chairborne could bid for tickets to pull the trigger. So, in a perverse kind of way, I agree with Rupe - better not upset them, they are a bit fragile right now.

The social networking giant Facebook is a few steps away from trademarking the word face, online documents reveal.

The site has been asked to detail a "statement of use" by the US Patent and Trademark Office, explaining how it intends to use the word.

If granted, the trademark will only apply to online sites and services used to exchange messages.

It could limit the use of the word in other social networks and services, such as Apple's Facetime, lawyers said.

Trade mark specialist Fiona McBride, from law firm Withers and Rogers, said the move was "not as unexpected as it may sound ".

"Facebook is right to lay legal claim to use of the word 'face' in the context of social networking sites and other specific computer-linked activities because they have built up a reputation in the name Facebook, of which arguably 'face' is the dominant element," she said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11837939

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Gus: not on your nelly... Face is a common usage word. If it is registered, then I will go back and place a strong complaint to the patent and copyright office for having rejected one of my applications of an obscure word, never used, but that they deemed common. Mugbook for mugs is enough to annoy me...

The acceptance of Rebekah Brooks's resignation as chief executive of News International is seen by MPs as the start of an aggressive fightback by the Murdoch empire ordered by its global mastermind, Rupert Murdoch.

Her replacement by Tom Mockeridge, a no-nonsense New Zealander who has been running Sky Italia - wholly owned by Murdoch - is part of that strategy.

David Cameron and Ed Miliband, who had both called for her to quit, welcomed Brooks's resignation. Simon Hughes, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said she should have resigned earlier.

For the Murdochs, however, accepting Brooks's resignation is a high-risk strategy. She was the firewall that protected Rupert and his son James. With Rebekah gone, the father and son team at the top of the empire are now fully exposed.

Lord Prescott, Tony Blair's former deputy and a victim of News of the World phone hacking, welcomed the news of her departure but in a tirade at the Murdoch press warned that the target now is the "spider in the web", Murdoch himself.

Culture minister Ivan Lewis said: "This is not about one person.
There is a criminal investigation. At the select committee hearing next week, Parliament needs to get the answers it has been seeking."

Read more: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/81742,news-comment,news-politics,rupert-murdoch-says-sorry-but-hes-just-winding-up-for-the-fight-#ixzz1SFpejWZo

You will be amaze by looking at the toon at top...