terryjohaldotcom

The Interweb is so mean

"Oh why oh why is the Interweb against us? Surely, we deserve better treatment. The Interweeb is so negative. Its unhealthy, unreliable and dangerous discourse, flush with rumours and distortions to mislead and confuse the public."

Oh no! The poor hegemons are under attack. Will no one help the poor defenceless souls?

NetVocates is here to rescue you.

They will help you the hegemon to deal with those unruly blogging types who are out there sullying your good name. They say that,

"blogs represent an uncomfortable topic ... blogs frequently impact an organization and its products and image in uncontrolled and often unexpected ways... inattentive organizations and their brands at risk ... blogs also represent a significant opportunity for organizations ... a well-planned communication strategy, blogs can serve as an effective communications tool to promote key messages to targeted audiences." [ref]

So, what this means is that the good folks ar NetVocates will hire trolls people to leave spam comments to bug the hell out of the bloggers and their ill speaking ways,

"...reinforce those key messages on targeted blogs – and rebut misinformation when appropriate." [ref]

Thats only because there could be no reason that someone is blogging negatively about you.

Culture Warrior?

This is a very depressing thing to read early in the morning.

Keith Windschuttle has been appointed to the board of the ABC. This is just another step to the Howard neutering of a what I believe makes Australian culture great - tolerance and diversity.

Communications Minister Helen Coonan said Mr Hurley's business and management experience would be an asset to the ABC, as would Mr Windschuttle's background in media, journalism and publishing.

"Mr Windschuttle has 20 years' experience lecturing in Australian history, journalism and social policy at a number of Australian universities. He has also been a visiting or guest lecturer at a number of universities in the United States," she said. [ref]

Well, if that was the case, then perhaps Stuart Macintyre should have been considered as well. If only it were about a fair go.

Party over here

S$18 million and this still happens?

Democracy as raw as it gets

I am a big fan of democracy. I dont mean the kind of democracy that serves merely as veneer for the politics of the elite and corporations. Most democracies today have managed to reduce our political practice to 'tick a box' every few years. We call it represetational democracy, where we elect someone else who then votes on our behalf.

Liberal democacies in theory are useful but how much of the representation is actually ours. It seems mostly to be dominated by wedge politics and diversive policies used to galvanise and polarise. The key is to get elected and then relected. And to finance this, we need funding from corporations - who give mony out of the goodess of their hearts. And its a coincidence that most politicians end up in the private sector upon 'retirement'.

Anyway, I digress.

This is what has shocked me.

"Dutch pedophiles are launching a political party to push for a cut in the legal age for sexual relations to 12 from 16 and the legalization of child pornography and sex with animals, sparking widespread outrage." [ref]

Is it their democractic right to want a voice? To at least try and see if they can have a voice? To ban them, would that be anti-democractic?

Must be expecting one hell of a party

The Singapore Police are spending more than S$ 18, 000, 000 on some new toys.

1. customised, portable barricades are being developed. These "public order barricades" can be transformed into a 2.5metre-tall structure weighing 500kg to respond to different "threat levels". They are also built with razor mesh on top to prevent rioters from climbing over.
2. a multi-functional van, which — besides patrolling and transporting personnel in custody — can also be deployed to maintain public order. The police are bringing in 33 units of the vehicle at $140,000 each. Equipped with an automated barricade fence, the windows of the 4.25-tonne vehicle are reinforced by security mesh and its undercarriage is protected against petrol bombs.
3. 47 vehicles at a cost of $13.79 million. Designed to withstand impact, these purpose-built vehicles also come with protective features such as an undercarriage fire extinguishing system and a ventilation system that prevents harmful gases from seeping in. They are also equipped with features such as detachable, front-mounted barricades, strobe lights, gun ports and 360-degree video recording systems.
4. and at least two other types of vehicles. [ref for all above]

But Singapore is a country of law and order. There last time there was a ruckus of any real significance was ages ago [in 1964].  The most exciting thing to have happened recently was the Hello Kitty Wars in 2000.

So what's with the firepower upgrade? Nothing sinister. Nothing to do with the elections. Nothing to do with James Gomez.

Arundhati Roy on India, Iraq, U.S. Empire and Dissent

Arundhati Roy recently gave an interview [audio file] to Amy Goodman at Democracy Now!. She is talking particularly about GW Bush's recent visit to India especially about the bits that we did not see. She also provides a context for a lot of what is happening in India at the moment and in particular the stronger embrace of neo-liberalism and how the people are reacting to it all.

"There were massive demonstrations, where hundreds of thousands of people showed up. But it didn't seem to matter either to Bush or to the Indian government, which went ahead and signed, you know, deals where this kind of embrace between a poorer country or a developing country and America. We have such a litany of the history of incineration when you embrace the government of the United States. And that's what happened, that the Indian government, in full servile mode, has entered into this embrace, has negotiated itself into a corner, and now continues to do this deadly sort of dance." [ref]

She also refers often to the impossibility of satire as the things that are already happening could not be more ironical or ridiculous.

"...he [Gandhi] stood for nonviolence, and here it was really the equivalent of a butcher coming and tipping a pot of blood on that memorial and going away. It was -- you know, there was no room left, as I said, for satire or for anything, because it was so vulgar, the whole of it." [ref]

Definite worth a read or listen.

Is yeochoewtong.com that powerful?

www.yeocheowtong.com is taking credit for the retirement of its namesake from the cabinet in Singapore. There is a discussion going on at the moment on Sammyboy's Alfresco Coffee Shop about this matter.

The rationale is that since www.yeocheowtong.com has served up much 'dirt' on Cheow Tong [back story], it has forced the hand of PAP through the power of the Internet.

"Is yeocheowtong.com that powerful? Not even the PAP can overcome the power of the Internet."

Let try and answer that.

The rationale is that since PAP leaders have often made said that if the one's reputation has been sullied by another, then its imperative that one must sue for defamation.

"When I call a man openly, you're a liar, you're dishonest, and you do not dare to sue me, there's something basically wrong." MM Lee [ref]

MM Lee said this recently in reference to the James Gomez affair. MM Lee called Gomez a liar and accused him of being dishonest. The argument is that Gomez should take MM Lee to court to clear his name and redeem his reputation. Should Gomez not do so, the logical inference would be that MM Lee was correct about Gomez and that he was a liar and dishonest. 

Network Neutrality - Why it matters.

"The Internet is increasingly becoming the dominant medium binding us. The neutral communications medium is essential to our society. It is the basis of a fair competitive market economy. It is the basis of democracy, by which a community should decide what to do. Let us protect the neutrality of the net.” Neutrality of the Net, Tim Berners-Lee

There is a rather important battle brewing at the moment over in the United States over the Internet.

I think its rather important that we educate ourselves on what is happening even though we might not be in the US. What is at stake here will eventually go beyond  geographical boundaries. What is at stake here is the very notion of the Internet, the very nature of the Internet.

When talking to students about Network Neutrality, it strikes me at the number of blind spots we have, probably as the Internet and it practises has become ordinary and everyday for so many of us. There is no much that we have taken for granted that the possibilty of it being taken away is hard to conceptualise.

For more information, please read the FAQ at save the internet.com

Available here