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The FCC and Media Consolidation
An anonymous reader writes "A story on this evening's All Things Considered but also at Now with Bill Moyers reports this June, the FCC will choose whether to keep or drop longstanding rules limiting the number of media outlets (radio stations, TV stations, etc.) a company may hold in a single area. That means all the radio stations in your area, for example, may one day be controlled by one company, like Clearchannel or Rupert Murdoch's FOX Communications. One irony is virtually no news outlet is covering the story. Another is the justifying argument for this move comes from the emergence of new media, like the Internet and Cable/Satellite. Yet with all 100's of new TV channels available, there are only five major media companies out there controlling them all, and recent copyright rules applying to the Internet have all but squelched-out Internet radio. So the old rules might not be so outdated after all. But the only voices being heard in this argument are coming from the media giants." In a related story, AOL/Time-Warner is petitioning the FCC to lift the restriction forbidding AOL from launching "advanced" IM services without letting others access the IM network.
is there a public comment that anyone knows about?
I dont understand how you can lift a petiton to brake the interoperability of an IM... ... who want to use IM with the least people possible ?....
Who would sign this ?AOL employees
Imagine somebody saying : hey! they are way too much people talking on AIM lets kick those nerds out....
Overuse of the Pumping Lemma causes blindness
That broadcast media is different? They've allocated a limited number of airwave slots, airwaves that belong to the people, and so the government does have a stake in protecting their use. Own all the cable stations you want, own all the websites you want, but you shouldn't be able to lease all of our resource. You should be able to use one at a time in a market per type (ie 1 FM, 1 AM and 1 TV max).
Mod this down. Misleading link that has nothing to do with Greenspan. Link is actually to http://www.outwar.com/page.php?x=623513 which seems to be more of some kind of popularity counting site.
...and IN SOVIET RUSSIA, beowulf clusters imagine 1, 2, 3 profit!!!! jokes made out of YOU!!!
All the FCC rules for divying up the airwaves is based on the notion that bandwidth is a very scarce resource, and ultimately owned by the public. This "extreme scarcity" however is changing.
Once television stations are transmitted digitially, there will be far, far more bandwidth available. There will no longer be these so-called "natural monopolies" in each locality, encouraging government regulation of the resource.
When we go digital, there is no longer even any half-justifiable reason for restricting who gets what. There is plenty more to be gotten, and far more oportunity for competition.
Moreover, freedom of speech does not require restrictions placed on the private sphere -- just the opposite. If anything, government restricting who is allowed to run a media outlet in a free market is an attack on the first amendment.
quiquid id est, timeo puellas et oscula dantes.
In a related story, AOL/Time-Warner [wants to launch] "advanced" IM services without letting others access the IM network.
At what point will the FCC finally force IM interoperability? Imagine if the phone companies could get away with this. Sprint customers wouldn't be able to call MCI customers, for example.
The FCC needs to intervene soon!
One part of the FCC rules that could be lifted prohibits a company from owning a newspaper or broadcast outlet in the same market. So not only could they own all the radio and television stations, but they could also own the newspaper in town.
Sounds great from a "diversity of voices" standpoint doesn't it?
We need diversity in TV channels as it the main media through which people get their information. If there is only a limited number of media outlets the stories that get broadcast will be more one sided than they are already. Things like the BBC are relativly fair but still not totally independant. The best course I would say is news.google.com. As all the stories are supposdly chosen by computer then it at least gives a fair cross sample
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
The FCC also needs to raise or completely remove the limits on transmitter power. Allow stations to broadcast farther, so if maybe I can't get programming from one of the major networks in my area, I'd be able to get it from another station.
Second, I very much doubt that this will be a big deal. It's to the advantage of the networks to have an affiliate in all of the areas of the US with a sizable TV audience. The more area they cover, the more people there are viewing their ads, and the more revenue they get.
Who really gets screwed out of this is smaller networks that can't afford to have affiliations with stations in every city. In markets that have many stations, smaller networks have an opportunity to own or affiliate with stations that haven't already been taken by the major networks.
I interchangably refer to affiliates and stations owned by the networks, because the effects are mostly the same. There's no way a station owned by FOX would affiliate with NBC.
All media has a point-of-view. Each media outlet does have a point of view, some conservative, some progressive, some liberal, some off-the-wall. Mostly conservative nowadays, because of being controlled by large megacorps that are by definition conservative in their approach. But there is a point-of-view.
OK, so what if you are in a market with several media choices (newspapers, TV stations, radio stations)? Then you get a variety of political positions being pushed at you. You can pick and choose among those points-of-view and then make up your own mind. Reading all sides helps you come closer to reality. In contrast, if one company owns your local newspaper and your local TV station and your local radio outlets, you get only one viewpoint. If the owner of that company is extreme in his or her viewpoint, you get your news slanted in just that direction -- and no other viewpoint.
If you are Web-savvy, you can escape this trap, but most people get their news as it is fed to them, spoonful by spoonful. Look at how many people think CNN provides an unbiased viewpoint, the facts. Look at how many people think Fox is unbiased. The more control is put over the media by any one company, the worse this will get. Can you imagine a world where the only news it was possible to get came from AOL-Time Warner, or Fox, or any one source?
We may yet find out what that would be like...
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I guess some of the socialists out there believe that corporations only want SOME of your money. They want money from all sides, no matter how many outlets they own. Therefore, you can expect all points of view to be expressed.
My net wealth is 33 million dollars. I can take a hundred thousand dollar advertising run, or I can help sink the man who would cost me two hundred thousand in taxes. Gee, decisions.
Yeah, you can get your national and international and even statewide news on the Internet from a variety of sources, but how will that translate to all the smaller towns and cities which don't get the bright glare of satellite trucks from the major networks?
What viewpoint will you get from your local school board and city council when one company owns all the voices?
That's the nightmare the FCC forgets about when they get blinded by the major metro areas and lose sight of the small towns and cities across the country.
AOL Time-Warner - WB, HBO, Cinemax, CNN, TBS
General Electric - NBC, A&E, Bravo, MuchMusic
Viacom - CBS, UPN, MTV, VH1, Showtime, Nickelodeon
Walt Disney Company - ABC, Disney Channel, ESPN
Liberty Media Corp. - Discovery Channel, TLC, USA Networks, Sci-Fi Channel
AT&T Corp. - Many shared stakes with AOL-TW
News Corp. - Fox Network, FX
Bertelsmann - Largest European broadcaster
Vivendi Universal - USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel, HSN, Sundance
Sony - Telemundo, Game Show Network
More detailed information available at The Nation.
This article brings up some important points that need to be addressed about government regulation of media. Nobody wants a consolidation of media so that one company ends up controlling all the media in a given area. This would be similar to if K-Mart bought up every retail store in a metropolitan area.
There is a distinct difference between the retail environment and the media environment. If government decided to limit the number of grocery stores in a given area with a new agency called the GCC (Grocery Control Commission) there would be obvious problems. Corporations with the most money would immediately suck up all of the licenses and every mom & pop store would immediately go out of business.
The way things stand now, city councils have some regulatory power over rezoning but for the most part there are no limits on the number of grocery stores in a given area. The market sets the price. Unfortunately, due to the huge amount of regulations by the FCC the radio and televison stations are limited by something that the government calls bandwidth.
The effect is that the barrier to entry to start your own radio station, television channel, etc. is very high due to licensing costs and bandwidth "availability". Thus we really don't have anything resembling a free market in the area of media. As long as the government controls the licenses, the people will not have a voice. I have heard arguments recently on slashdot that there is no such thing as a bandwidth problem. This begs the question exactly what is the government doing limiting the number of radio or television stations in a given area?
I'm not sure what the solution is to the problem with the FCC and giant media companies buying up stations around the country. One thing is clear, though: The present situation is nowhere near capitalism, nor the fault of the free market.
The new digital channeles have been gobbled up by the companies already owning newspapers and television stations. The scarcity may not be there any longer, but the media companies have adapted to the additional supply by a traditional polyopolist's trick: buying up all the suppliers!
davecb@spamcop.net
Freedom of speech gives you the right to stand on a street corner and taunt passerbys, or start a conspiracy rag, but certainly the idea that private property should be confiscated so that you can have your own network, radio station, etc. is not included.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
Dude, those Republicans are so big money influenced it's insane! Good to see the Democrats sticking up for the small guy.
PBS has a very informative website outlining The Merchants of Cool -- "a report on the creators and marketers of popular culture for teens".
But the most eye-opening part is their section on the Media Giants. It has a huge listing of all the holdings and subsidaries of the largest media giants: News Corp, Vivendi Universal, Sony, AOL Time Warner, Walt Disney and Viacom.
Check out AOL Time Warner, for instance.
The reality: A Constitutional Democracy occupied by a Capitalist Republic.
... (all is lost).
Business wins we lose. Government giveaways come in many disguises, but all are in fact Corporate Welfare. The world will follow where we go, and the US is lost forever to history. There are five that closely follow the new "Politically Correct" that provides the "Unified Field of Vision" theory that provides one sight with hues and tints that build our fence.
Until Business and Government are separated expect the worse for US, and those that follow Religion and Government unable to separate the two. Yes, in today's world depending where you live BUSSINESS=RELIGION, both are oppressive, corruptive, and deadly to people/citizens and our GOVERNMENTS.
I have limited my intake of news to ABC, BBC, PBS, and Times/Post/Herald news articles on the internet. The others appear to biased/BS to me and frequently parochial, lame, and personality centric stupid (Talking Heads). Plenty of idiot personal opinion comments with grins and giggles, limited substance, no character, soulless drivel in a complex dynamic world with extremely significant news being avoided or marginalized by policy and actors. Longing, for the days when news people, editors, and the story had dignity
OldHawk777
Reality is a self-induced hallucination.
Unaccountable leaders are masters, and unrepresented people are slaves. How do US and EU fare?
Ordinarily I try just to ignore trolls, but someone actually modded this up...
scripsit LibertineR:
That is just horribly, horribly wrong. Let me give you some simple situations where this doesn't work:
I could go on ad nauseum. I think this is nauseating enough, though.
In principio creauit Linus Linucem.
I can understand Clear Channel, but why did the poster choose Fox as an example? They are so far down the Big Media totem pole that they barely qualify as an outllet at all. ABC/Disney and CBS/Viacom both own many, many more television and radio stations, so... why Fox, hmm?
As you know from a previous /. story, the spectrum is limitless. Current dumb devices tune to frequency X and simply display, A/V or other; smart devices would be able to filter transmissions, meaning that you could have an infinite amount of data in a very small chunk of spectrum. Spectrum is nothing more than colors, visible or otherwise, and you cannot run out of colors. Even if it was not so, the internet gives one the ability to transmit whatever they please, assuming of course that they are willing to make the same investment as those already in play. The FCC, by basing itself on the flawed-theory of spectrum scarcity, is doing far more to limit broadcast diversity than any one corporation.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
Oooh, insightful!
Did you ever watch UHF starring good ole Weird Al? Well that movie covers the same monopolyptic concerns that you're raising.
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Free your mind.
In Los Angles, Viacom owns channels 2 (CBS) and 13 (UPN), Disney owns 7 (ABC) and 9 (KCAL), and the Chicago Tribune owns both channel 5 (KTLA) and the only daily newspaper, the Los Angeles Times. Here in Worcester, MA, both channels 7 and 10 are NBC, 4 (CBS) and 38 (UPN) are both Viacom (and actually share the same nightly news), 2 and 44 are owned by the same PBS affiliate (WGBH), and 98 is also owned by PBS. So what exactly would change here?
I do some contract work for a nationally-syndicated home improvement radio show, so I'm quite familiar with the whole Clear Channel buyout process. Since some of you may not know how this works, I'll explain it as succinctly as I can.
Let's say you own a radio station. Your radio station plays Top 40 stuff. You have hired some local DJs from the nearby college to play music, and you have some fun with various weekend and Friday night shows that showcase some local artists. You have a playlist that is based both on what other Top 40 stations are playing (the "popular" music), and requests from your listeners. You're doing well, but you have to maintain a staff to sell ads, and you're finding it harder and harder to do this.
Clear Channel comes in and offers to buy your radio station. Now, Clear Channel has enough money so that they can make you an offer you can't refuse. You acquiesce and agree to become a Clear Channel station.
Clear Channel places your station into one of seven formats. Everyone who listens to radio is now clear on what these formats are, because that's pretty much all that remains on radio today. There's "Top 40", which is what your station will be. There are also "easy listening", "talk", and four others.
Clear Channel fires 4 out of your 6 local DJs and replaces them with DJs from other areas. This is how Clear Channel makes its money: it can pay one "regional" DJ $15 an hour to broadcast out to 4 regional stations, or you and 3 other stations could each pay $12 an hour to 4 DJs to do the same thing. Thus, the complaints from the listeners start to arrive about losing the "local" feel, but by then there's nothing you can do--it's all in Clear Channel's hands.
Clear Channel takes a look at your programming and decides what you will and won't continue to play. In the case of Top 40, they give you a playlist. In the case of talk stations, they give you a list of syndicated shows and force you to drop everything that isn't on the list. (This is where On The House comes in-- every time Clear Channel buys a station out, they force the station to drop On The House in favor of their home improvement guy. We've lost several affiliates this way.)
Let's continue with the analogy of your (er, Clear Channel's) Top 40 station. You're now forced to drop the local bits since you only have two local DJs left (and in all likelihood, they're both doing the morning show, since that's the most lucrative time for radio.) You're now fed a playlist. Clear Channel has national playlists. That means that whatever your station is playing is the same stuff that every other Top 40 station owned by Clear Channel is playing. Do you wonder why all radio stations seem to play the same stuff? If they're owned by Clear Channel, it's because they are playing the same songs.
How does Clear Channel come up with these songs? They test-market in one market. ONE. In your case, the Top 40 stuff is tested in places like New Mexico. Yep, listeners in New Mexico are deciding what your station is going to play! Welcome to Clear Channel.
If you're wondering why radio seems to have gone downhill, you can look no further than Clear Channel. Sadly, DJs are pretty much corporate minions these days. They no longer get to spin new local tracks, and they don't have a choice on what to air. Many of them aren't even in the studio for half or more of the time they're on air -- they pre-record bits and play them as their segment progresses.
It's a sad time for radio. Fortunately, I believe the independents like On The House will survive. The independent radio stations will find their niche as well. I believe that Clear Channel will eventually feel the consumer backlash, much like we lashed out against high CD prices.
Please don't shrug your shoulders about the new FCC regulations being suspended, though. Loosening these regulations is a bad thing. Clear Channel doesn't need to hurt radio any more than it already has.
Simpli - Your source for San Jose dedicated servers and colocation!
Like medicine, news is not necessarily best served by a purely capitalist model -- especially since the broadcast spectrum allows for far fewer points of view to be expressed than print media.
Some points of view have more advertiser backing than others. Recall that it's the advertisers who pay for radio stations, not the listeners. Distortions of listener desires occur in the space between the advertisers' customers' money and the advertisers' money.
Therefore, it makes sense that the vast majority of advertiser dollars will support mainstream, majority points of view, flushing out minority concerns. Public funding helps restore the balance caused by these distortions.
This is not "socialist" thinking; it's entirely rational given the rules of the game.
Long, long ago (early 1910's to be exact) the US parcelled out its radio frequencies. They were/are supposed to be resources dedicated to the benefit of us all, like our national parks.
Of course that ideal has eroded considerably over the years. The commercial US media has proven time and time again that it can't be relied upon for substantial news or even decent entertainment content. To all my laissez faire friends, look no further than Clear Channel to see how this actually hurts the market...
After the FCC relaxed ownership regulations, the radio industry is actually smaller, less jobs are available, and musicians' barriers to radio play are higher than ever.
PBS and NPR are merely bones thrown out to the public, a meaningless gesture. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has no more interest in providing decent news than FOX or CNN-look no further than the 2000 Presidential debates, where Jim Lehrer supported the blocking of third-party candidates from the discussion for proof.
So what needs to happen? A lot of people have noted that the amount of spectrum available through digital 'modulation' makes it possible to broadcast an almost unlimited number of radio channels...and this technique could be applied to television as well, to a lesser extent. With limited spectrum a thing of the past, public and commercial interests can share the media, each supporting the other. Here's what I'd like to see happen:
1)Corporation for Public Broadcasting/PBS/NPR dismantled. Public funding allocated for those organizations should be used to build a strong public access infrastructure. This new public access project awards grants to budding television producers. This public access network could also serve as a 'farm league' for larger commercial interests. Successful public-access producers could be picked up by the larger networks-allowing risk-free, cost-free market research for Big Media. Everybody wins!
2)FCC laws limiting media ownership strengthened. Let's limit how many media outlets, and what kind of outlets each corporation can own. Media outlets should be required to report their owners, as well as what other media outlets are owned by their owners, on "public service announcements" several times per day. You'd be surprised at how many people don't know that AOL owns CNN, Time Magazine, many local cable companies, etc.
3)Classrooms teach semiotics/media literacy. Knowing how to dissect and critique popular media is very important for a free-thinking society. As (somebody? Gramsci?) said, "The power of ideology is that it presents itself as normal." People need to know that 'objective' news is impossible, and how to spot astroturfing, shilling, and other forms of deception.
So...that's my long-winded take on how to 'fix the media'. Appoint me as FCC chairman in 2004!
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
The one where lawyer Steve Dallas time travels and screws things up. He then quips "A blighted landscape of insurance monopolies and hiding, dependent, squabbling mice-people...An entire planet of victims!" Substitute any number of corporation types for "insurance" and you get the picture.
In these times when the major media corporations suck at the tit of the ruling political party and largely publish only those items that the ruling political party wishes to be published, that the citizenry should question government and the ideology by which the government is using to rule. The citizens cannot truely be free if they do not have free access to unfiltered streams of information. Refresh my memory, didn't we fight a war +230 years ago to put a stop to this nonsense?!
Monopolies are illegal and should be broken and/or punished. Media monopolies should not be allowed to start. The FCC should not even be considering this action - it should not be allowed. So much for being a democracy and/or republic.
One of the worst things that ever happened to this country was corporations being given protection under the Bill of Rights. Corporations cannot be given the same rights as citizens since corporations cannot be trusted not to abuse those rights. Government and corporations should be on a short leash being held by the citizenry, not the other way around.
scripsit Gortbusters.org:
Only about as insightful as saying ``Sticking your hand in a running blender is bad''... It really shouldn't be necessary to point out why concentration of media ownership is a bad thing.
I'm not sure I follow what you mean here.
In principio creauit Linus Linucem.
And no I'm not a particularly huge fan. Though I would be if they took a more investigative role.
The "previous" slashdot story. Ah the brave new world beyond that pesky concept of backwards compatibility.
Here is the deal with AOL IM. When AOL and Time Warner merged, they were forced to agree not to add advanced IM features (Video and such) until their network was open to other companies. Hindsight shows that this was a poor choice. Now that other companies offer these services, and the fact that AOL-TW has not become the behemoth it was supposed to have become, they seek to remove this restriction.
While it may be used as a revenue item, the purpose is to level the playing field before people starting switching to YIM for the video chat capabilities.
(Full disclosure, I am a TWC employee)
NPR has *a lot* of great shows that (Car Talk, Prairie Home Companion) and their news coverage is a lot more "fair and balanced" then those who claim to be.
The real theme of conservatism as of late is to spit bile, intolerance, and contempt at anyone/everyone who doesn't buy their bullshit. I for one am sick of it.
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
recent copyright rules applying to the Internet have all but squelched-out Internet radio.
Those rules don't say one can't create original content (news, music, whatever) and start an internet radio station. Outbound bandwidth on your $40/month cable connection may be a problem but fixing that's just a matter of a little money.
Greg Palast
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
In the US, broadcast media (AM, FM, UHF, VHF) belongs to the people, much like our national parks do. This is what the FCC Charter actually states. However, nobody knows this, and the commercial media interests that have infested TV and radio aren't gonna tell anyone.
The only reason that the FCC started issuing licenses is because of the limitation of spectrum. If we use modern technology to modulate the signal, these limitations are lifted, and there's no need to regulate who should be on the air and who shouldn't. If the FCC was acting in accordance its charter, I should be able to broadcast a stream of curse words over the air 24/7. The way it is now, I'm limited to a megaphone and my vocal chords (until they give out). Obviously, this is counter to free speech and democracy.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
This site provides information on the current monopolies that dominate media due to the deregulations in the early 1990s. Extrapolate from there.
Michael.
Linux : Mac
(From PBS's Merchants of Cool)
Nonsense. If you dont listen, they dont make money. Ultimately, people decide. That is the marketplace. I dont care who thinks my post was a troll, as it only goes to prove how little most of you understand economics.
I'm watching the Running Man now.
Karma: Excellent^(-t/Tau), Tau=Wittiness/Trollishness
This nation is pretty evenly divided. The money in this nation is ALSO pretty evenly divided. If you dont believe that, ask yourself why the middle class actually pays the bulk of the taxes, not the rich.
In that there is money on both sides, your premise of one station owning all points of view in a community is false.
There will ALWAYS be a market for the alternative point of view, there for that point of view will be represented REGARDLESS of ownership. As I said before, the concern in business is for dollars. ALL OF THEM, not just those representing a single point of view. Dont consider businesses to be so stupid, that they would ignore the dollars of one side in favor of the other.
In other words, get a clue.
scripsit BlueStone:
Thanks, amigo. At first glance, he looks pretty sharp.
In principio creauit Linus Linucem.
Don't like US radio? Listen to streaming radio from somewhere else!
Here in the UK, we have a reasonably enlightened regulatory framework which gives us advert-free streams from the BBC, and gems like ResonanceFM.com which plays 'art radio' which is so abaout as far from pop music as you can possibly get - I highly recommend rsonance to people wishing to broaden their exposure to the unusual!
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
Let me see here, the LEFT has ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, MSNBC & PBS, but they are scared shitless over FOX.
It is the LEFT that cannot stand for alternative points of view, that attempts to shout down anything that doesnt adhere to their ideas for their socialist utopia.
To answer your question YOU HEARD ALL THAT STUFF, RIGHT????
Or did it just fly up your ass one morning during an inspiring dump?
I heard it too, on AMERICAN news. If you can get the information, then you cant bitch about not getting the information.
Oh wait, yes you can, because your are a stupid liberal, which means you can speak from your ass in any dialect you wish. You are not required to make sense, because you worship irrational emotionalism.
Forgive me, I forgot.
Not even worth a comment.
scripsit LibertineR:
You know, the Right needs more spokesmen like you.
Thank you for pointing out the irrational emotionality of the Left, in such lucid, dispassionate terms.
In principio creauit Linus Linucem.
I did mention in a later post that the spectrum, when used correctly, has no bandwidth limit. However, I'm puzzled as to how you think being limited to "a megaphone and my vocal cords" is counter to free speech. When the Constitution was written, there was no such things as megaphones. Our country was based on negative, not positive freedoms. You have the right to free speech as far as no one will interfere with your efforts, but you do not have the right to demand ownership of others property and efforts to enable yourself a bigger audience. We aren't a democracy, we're a republic, there's a huge difference. In a republic, governmental power is limited (or is supposed to be), while in a democracy government has plenary power, such as in France. National parks belong to the people? Hrm, then why is the government the one designating and controlling them? Nothing belongs "to the people," only individuals. The government owns the national parks, charges admission, makes rules and regulations, decides what you can and cannot do, etc. If it was mine, I could walk in, chop down a tree, and make a big pointy stick to poke intruders with. The FCC, being a governmental agency, will naturally expand beyond its charter, because nature abhors a power vacuum, ie freedom. And it gives the otherwise unemployable something to feel good about.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
Please somebody tell which channel in the U.S. is examining why almost every country on earth is in opposition to the U.S. war in Iraq and its seizure of the oil wells ( or maybe they will eventually be sold to some joint US/"iraqi" company just like the saudis et. al. which is the same thing, Aramco is Arabian American Oil).
Actually many countrys are for the action in Iraq. France, Genrmany, Russia and China are big countrys and against it, so they get the coverage. Many small countrys are for it, but who cares what Latvia thinks, just to name one. (I don't even care enough to look up the correct spelling of their name, though they are for the action in Iraq)
As for seizure of the oil wells, the promiss so far is that the oil belongs to Iraq, After paying for rebuilding the country they will belong to Iraq, and hopefully the new country will be smart enough to sell them for a big amount, and then get taxes every year that amount to something that can get them on their feet, and keep them there ever after the oil runs out. Promisses have been broken in the past, but to say the wells are permently seized for US interest isn't the promis.
Which American station has explored the data that shows that _all_ the biological weapons came from the states? All the chemicals came from the states? Which one is looking at the fact that at the time of the chemical attacks by that bastard Sad-Ham, Iraq was the single largest recipient of american foreign aid cash.
Except for the supplies that came from Russia (I think others too, but I know that Russia sent chemcials to Iraq). And France will be directly responsible if they achive nukes.
Which American station is looking into the overthrow of democratic governments as American foriegn policy. in vietnam 56
Not sure about the others, but Vietnam was highly publicised during the war, and you can't read a history book about US in the 60s and 70s that doesn't go into a deep analysis of the situation there. The situation is far deeper than your simple sentence (which is true, but not the full truth) would lead someone to belive. There isn't room on /. to cover this topic though. (Even if I could remember all the facts)
Did any of you hear that the man listed to run Iraq after liberation is an american arms dealer? NO? Did any one hear that each of the 23 ministries will be headed by an American, No?Who else would you choose? The right person needs to know politics, something an arms dealer has to navigate often. American (and the UK, do not forget them) will win this war, and they can choose the leaders. They will start with their own people, with instructions to build the country and hand it over to Iraq. This can work,. just look at Japan. It can also fail. To pass judgement before it starts it wrong.
Or Haliburton, Cheney's company, with the contract to rebuild the oil wells. My god this does look profitable.
Correction: Cheney's former Company. He left the company before he became vice president. When someone enters politics from the private sector, they turn control of their stocks and money over to a blind trust, which means they trust someone to deal with all their money, and give them no clue how it is invested. The only other way would be to require someone interested in politics to decide before they are 16 if they want a pirvate sector or political carreer. If the latter they will never hold a real job except for one in politics because that could taint them. (Not even burger flipper at McDonalds, becuase McDonalds would then have a opportunity to brainwash them...) Get real, like most people, Cheney had a real job, he took a position that would result in a conflict of interest with his other jobs, so he left those jobs so he wouldn't have one.
If ClearChannel owns all the radio stations in an area, but no one listens to any of them, do they really use any bandwidth?
Hey what are you talking about? All those stations you mentioned are not at all inclined to socialist or communist viewpoints. They are mainstream news sources, broadcasting fair and balanced information the average American craves.
You right wing wackos just want everyone to belive in your sick, radical agenda. Pretty soon, the average American will have no choice but to be fed your fascist propganda, meanwhile the American Socialist Party will be forced to take to covert operations to broadcast a pirate radio channel.
I hope you get shot by another hunter when you are committing your acts of genocide. Or maybe get e. coli from eating that rare rabbit.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
"Correction: Cheney's former Company. He left the company before he became vice president. " Hmmmmm. I seem to remeber an article in Newsweek that said something along the lines that Cheney is still receiving $400,000 yearly from Haliburton, but it's all deferred into charity until after 2008. Hmmmm. Not the same thing as not having a conflict of interest.
CAPS LOCK: ITS LIKE THE CRUISE CONTROL FOR AWESOME
Your understanding of economics is about as bad as your grammar. IRREGARDLESS IS NOT A WORD, IDIOT!!
I think that the slashdot story relating electromagnetic spectrum to colors, while fundamentally true, missed a significant point: the methods we use to broadcast on the electromagnetic spectrum fundamentally limit the amount of spectrum available.
The people who are spouting off on this forum about "unlimited digital spectrum" and the infinite "color spectrum" are forgetting that whatever methods we choose to transmit over airwaves do NOT operate on single, "point" frequencies. Sure, protocols such as frequency modulation are worse than others, such as amplitdue modulation or single-sideband, but all of them operate on multiple frequencies -- if only because of the "parasitic" broadcasts that a single single tends to produce on multiples of the main frequency. And worse, it's always been true that higher-frequency modulation of a signal (i.e. higher bandwidth) leads to an increase the width of the broadcast signal.
Don't misunderstand me: I think that the current broadcast universe could hold a lot more information -- and produce a lot more "channels" of data. But at the same time, the size of the electromagnetic spectrum is limited by our ability to utilize it -- and there are some fundamental physical limitations of radio waves that we will likely never overcome.
In short, I think it's silly to be calling for a dismantling of the FCC -- we need the FCC to make sure that whatever the current methods of broadcast are, they aren't used to dominate the airwaves. The FCC needs a swift kick in the pants, sure (write your legislator), but calling for dismantling is shortsighted.
Let's try not to let fact interfere with our speculation here, OK?
Of course you do. Because you cant hold up an argument, you would rather wish violence on those who agree with you. I guess that means you give up?
Stupid jerk.
His reasoning ran something like: it's a complex issue and the public really isn't going to contribute anything intelligent to the discussion, so listening to them would just be a waste of time. Better to just ignore them outright. Note that this is not word for word what he said, but the tone and attitude are pretty close by my recolection.
Good job focusing on the joke at the end of my comment. It helps to ignore the serious points beforehand.
And doubly good job pedanticizing the difference between a democracy and a republic. It doesn't have anything to do with the discussion, but I'm proud that someone knows their civics.
You say that nothing belongs to people, only individuals. Then you say that the government owns public parks? I'm a little confused.
The government runs national parks, which have rules designated by state and local authorities. These rules are designed by ELECTED OFFICIALS. Yes, accountability, what a concept. Where is the accountability to US citizens in a privately-held organization? Answer: there isn't much!
You conclude with some statement about nature abhorring a power vacuum, and I guess you're trying to say that the mechanisms of government naturally gravitate towards less, rather than more, freedom. Doesn't really coincide with reality, but hey, it'd make a nice bumper sticker.
If the FCC refuses to follow its charter, then it's time to elect legislative officials who will reform the structure. But it seems to me that you'd rather chop down some trees.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
Stupid jerk.
You need to get a sense of humor, commrade.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
Are you truly so dillusional that you unquestionably assume your own intelligence at all times? You couldn't even bother to go to an online dictionary and look up the word? Ahh... I love slashdot.
btw, here is the definition of irregardless.
Of course, it goes without saying that not only are YOU the idiot, but you are a hopelessly arrogant one as well.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
Well, someone's come up with a novel way to hide their links. Slashdot currently tries to post the REAL domain as [domain.com] after the URL, but apparently this got past it.
Now it's time for bitching. SOMETHING has changed very recently in the past few days on Slashdot, and now that damn [domain.com] is what I see in my status bar in Opera (6.05). I no longer see the actual, full URL like I do with normal href's.
Could someone please fix this?
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
You use your experience contracting for a syndicated show to imply that you understand how program management and music directing work. It is clear from your exxageration of the "Ooh Microsoft Radio Company" that you do not have first hand experience in these areas.
(And re, 'On the House', of course they would drop your "indie" show for their own stable of programming, it's called saving costs. Buying internally == cheaper. If enough of the audience wanted 'On the House', it would find another affiliate, and still be on the air in that market).
AC -- cause I actually work for "them".
Luckily, the FCC faschism hardly affects me at all, because foreign media is now accessible with an ease that we would have found amazing 10 years ago. Anybody in the USA can put up a statellite dish and watch Al Jazeera news, or state television from most European states. We can read foreign newspapers online, and even a mediocre internet connection is good enough to listen streaming radio from everywhere in the world. I mean, just a few minutes ago I learned which Berlin freeways are stalled, and I live in New York.
My point is that just as the FCC has completely lost interest in serving the American people, they have luckily become reasonably irrelveant. If I could hypnotize Powell, I'd suggest that he'd take all broadcasters off the air and give that frequency to the people, enforcing only that their signals are weak enough to not mess things up for others. That's the way to move the country forward! Reserving our prescious spectrum for applications of the past, like rabbit-ear TV recievers, is a clear sign the FCC doesn't give a shit about serving this country.
Become a freebander! Lets see if the corps can't control the media when anyone broacasts whatever they want!
The DRM cartel wants to take over the internet too. Just read about all the lawsuits against P2P programs. They're not trying to stop copyright infringement, they're trying to stop public access to local and worldwide communications technology!
Screw the FCC. They're just shills for corporate bribes. The problem is the government assists the thieves in stealing all the communication technologies from us. I don't think your solution will help. What is needed is to put the organized crime (and the corrupt public officals who are helping them) in prison. But unfortunately, the FBI will never do this. When did our "justice" system start meaning let all the criminals roam free, and punish the innocent???
Then keep using it. Most people hearing it will automatically assume your lack of intellect.
"I have limited my intake of news to ABC, BBC, PBS, and Times/Post/Herald news articles on the internet."
Oh yeah, you're avoiding the media control of the Capitalist Republic with those choices. ABC?? You include frelling DISNEY as one of your non-biased and non-media-giant sources?
Our founders recognized that government naturally expands at the expense of freedom; the purpose of the Constituion was to chain government. Unfortunately, now that the Constitution has been thoroughly mangled, it is now up to the voters to chain government, and while they have had some success, elected officials paying more than lip service to a previously iron-clad document would be more effective.
I like trees.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
'Shareholders and consumers' are moneyed interests. They provide no incentive for an organization to act for the common good. Why was airport security quickly federalized after September 11th? Because people don't want their lives compromised by airline cost cutting measures.
The government is a meaningless abstraction. Getting involved in politics means communicating with people! At the local level it's not difficult. Hell, even influencing a large governmental organization like the FCC is not impossible. Thanks to grassroots efforts, the FCC denied the merger of Echostar with DirecTV. They also opened up the microradio spectrum. That's right, those "faceless bureaucrats" listen to ordinary citizens, you just have to take the effort to make your voice heard.
And all that "government naturally expands at the expense of freedom" crap might sound poetic, but let's face it. People don't want the "freedom" to die from diseased food. They don't want the "freedom" to risk their lives every time they decide to get on airplane.
Do you honestly think people were more free in 1800 than they are now? I guess you can conveniently ignore slavery, indentured servitude, the Alien and Sedition acts, etc. since they don't fit into your libertarian revisionist view of history. I wish you could actually travel back in time to 1796, I'm sure you'd love it there.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
oooooooooohhhhh.
is that the best you can do? you fucking moron? You assume most people are as ignorant as you? hahahahaha.
Just do yourself a big fucking favor, and buy a dictionary. You won't have to find yourself in this situation, trying in vain to save face.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
This shows a clear misunderstanding of what Libertarianism is. Libertaranism flows from classical liberalism, and it's core tenet is that people should be free to live their lives without governmental intrusion and of freedom of association. Slavery, being opposed to freedom, does not fit into this philosophy. The Alien and Sedition Acts, being opposed to the freedom of speech, is a direct blow to our freedoms as individuals and does not fit anywhere in classical liberalism. Indentured servitude, on the other hand, if entered into freely, is permissible, as people are free to mutually associate with others as they please. People in 1800 were more free in some areas, less free in others, but this does not mean that we continue to give up our freedoms simply because we had less freedom in the past.
There is no such thing as "moneyed" interests. In a free society, consumers hold the power to purchase goods as they see fit, and without consumers corporations and shareholders are worthless. As such, when a corporation does something that one disagrees with, the answer is to simply not patraonize their business. Do not blame corporations if they do not happen to do as you wish, as long as they are still those who value their services. Our society gives one the freedom to choose and to not choose.
Airport security was federalized despite the fact that the government was unable to protect us on 9/11, and I see no reason why they would suddenly be able to do so now. Airline cost cutting measures only exist because consumers aren't willing to pay the price for what you consider safe. Government, on the other hand, has the ability to force people to pay for what they voluntary would not, regardless of whether it is rational or not. It is display of congnitive dissonance that on one hand, the people in the form of the government want federalized airport security for "safety" reasons (or any other governmental take-over), while they were not willing to pay for it in a more efficient manner, through their own pocketbooks.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
Xenoc,
... verify, check, validate, ... do it again.
... yada-yada-yada ... that Mickey Mouse outfit.
What's your problem Xenoc, Mickey Mouse as a news announcer would be better than your favorite "Talking Head". Also, remember
"Xenoc" sounds "French", Your two favorite actors would be Micky and Jerry. Yep, Mickey would be the straight-man, because I never believed Fairy-Jerry was straight.
Next time use a good line like
Glad I can help you.
OldHawk777
Reality is a self-induced hallucination [I am not even sure you exist?].
Unaccountable leaders are masters, and unrepresented people are slaves. How do US and EU fare?
I, for one, find NPR to be my safe haven from the corporate media giants. It gives me all the facts and analysis I need, but without flashy graphics and dramatic music. Since it's radio, they actually have to improve their content, rather than their packaging. I don't know if NPR is conservative or liberal or if I am conservative or liberal -- but I do know what I like, and I like NPR. Now to your point, I'm all for setting up an infrastructure that allows individuals to express their views and perhaps be noticed by the "big players". But wait a second -- isn't that what the internet is for? Don't get me wrong, I fear TV consolidation as much as the next guy, but I consider PBS/NPR to be somewhat invulnerable to private-sector corporations. In fact, if this consolidation occurs, PBS/NPR may be the last outlet for minimal-biased reporting.
.sig: No such file or directory
I guess it's "cognitive dissonance" when the American people decide something that is counter to your beliefs.
You might want to start thinking why most people don't think the "free market" is a panacea like you do. Why most people think national and personal security is an activity that should not be centered on profit. Why they are inclined to trust their government more often than they do large corporations. Maybe you'll experience a little cognitive dissonance yourself.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
Clearly, you are living in a fantasy world. National security, while important and necessary, would have more success in securing our borders by actually securing our borders, and less in meddling in private enterprise. Personal security, is just that, personal. The connection between a well-armed citizenry and less crime is a well established one. People, while mistrustful of large corporations, being concentrations of power, are much less trustful of government, being even more massive concentrations of power. Americans voted Republicans, not Socialists, into power last election. Americans, time after time, prefer less services and less taxes than greater services and greater taxes. And Americans, in every Presidential election, vote for the candidate that is seen to be the one less likely to expand government, not the one most likely to increase government bloat. Your socialist world-view is built on a foundation of misassumptions and errors, contrary to reality.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997