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Comcast-NBC Merger Approved By FCC
AndyAndyAndyAndy writes "It seems that the FCC has approved the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC, effectively kicking apart hopes for protection against 'pipes and their water' frameworks. Pres. Obama's 2008 goal also goes ignored: 'I strongly favor diversity of ownership of outlets and protection against the excessive concentration of power in the hands of any one corporation, interest or small group.' The Dept. of Justice is also onboard, leaving little hope that this will be stopped."
Let's just start making all our own content and distributing it by sneaker net and avian protocols. I'm tired of every single damn decision going towards funneling more funds and freedom (for abuse) to the megacorps. We'll hire Kenyans drinking powerthirst to be the runners for the sneakernet version of gmail.
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
It is in the interest of governments to allow monopolies, it is much easier to order 1 big entity to cough up certain needed information or to force them to execute the government plans, than a lot of small entities.
This revolving door between big corporate US and the government (fascism) is starting to be a real burden on the people, all we have to wait for now is government to draw the wrong cards and finding that in reality their power is more and more subdued by the corporates.
But then, the people lost already 50 years ago when Ike proclaimed his farewell speech, this is just the final stage of that losing battle.
It seems like Obama has betrayed a large fraction of the ideals he stated during his campaign.
What I'd like to know is, during his campaign, did he...
(a) Lie about those ideals, never intending to pursue them?
(b) Tell the truth about what his ideals where, but know he was exaggerating about being able to accomplish all of them?
(c) Intend to achieve them all, but not realize that he could only chose a handful to push through?
(d) Once in office (and with access to all classified info), realize that some of his campaign promises were unwise, although he believed them to be wise at the time?
The answers to these may suggest whether we as citizens need to be more realistic about what's really possible (for example, effective counterintelligence while prosecuting your state torturers), or whether Obama is really just a far worse person than people give him credit for.
leader of their party...
...appointed the current FCC chairman and is responsible for the D majority of the FCC.
leader of their party...
...is the largest recipient of Hollywood campaign contributions in the history of US politics, and is about to embark on a $1E9+ re-election effort. NBCCOMCA$T? No Problem!
Keep drinking the anti-republican cool-aid, numpty. It's helping a lot. But for wise folk such as you we'd really be messed up. Quick, everyone mod this brilliant mofo way the hell up!
"Democrats" and "Republicans" haven't run anything in the United States for at least a few decades.
These terms are only used for betting purposes now. Political power belongs to people for whom limiting terms such as "party" or "ideology" have no meaning.
Today, power is vested with people whose names are not widely known. "Dems" and "Repubs" are little more than handy punching bags that can be blamed for problems so the people in power won't be disturbed.
You are welcome on my lawn.
One step closer to a single outfit controlling^Wsupplying all your media needs.
Along with that, it will be interesting to see what happens when Comcast gets Universal Studios along with NBC. I guess it means they'll start suing their own file-sharing customers -- which they won't even have to subpoena the names for. Maybe you'll even just see a charge on your next bill:
Comcast High Speed Internet Service: $52.99
Movie Sharing Fee: $25,000.00
Total due by Feb 8, 2011: $25,052.99
Thank you for choosing Comcast!
"What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
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Really, the Obama Administration has been just a continuation of the Bush Administration. Every time they have had a choice, they have chosen to keep the status quo and to continue to favor large business. This is no exception. The only change we got is in the last name of the POTUS.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Like that damn liberal Reupert Murdoch
You are entitled to your own opinions, not your own facts.
. . . heard that. Remember when GE made TVs? Remember when they made other TV equipment (post RCA, per-RCA re-aquisition) like TV cameras, too? Remember when they owned Universal Studios, too? Remember when pundits said GE was going to control the airwaves (as they did when they first owned RCA) and the minds of America? Now, who is selling NBC to Comcast?
Weren't you one of the slashdot guys telling us how great the FCC would be at regulating the internet?
..or do you need the FCC to fuck you over a couple more times before you will listen?
We told you that the FCC had no intention of promoting net neutrality, but you didn't fucking listen. The FCC then put forth bullshit neutrality rules that not enforce neutrality.
Now the FCC is condoning the creation of a real neutrality problem (not just one you fucking imagined.)
Are you ready to concede, that the FCC should not to be in charge of regulating the internet?
"His name was James Damore."
It seems it's not - according to TFA, the decision was approved with 4 - 1 votes. Michael Copps was the only one to vote against. I salute him.
Dilbert RSS feed
What in the world makes you believe that voting means anything? Supposedly, according to the media (and not just the "mainstream media" but ALL media, left-wing, right-wing, blogs, etc) there have been HUGE ideological swings in the parties in power. We've had republicans running everything and democrats running everything but regardless of the rhetoric, the end result is the same. But don't think it's because there are no difference between the parties. No, it's because the parties, the elections, even the government itself is nothing more than the "circuses" part of "bread and circuses". The whole shooting match is nothing but a distraction. Something to make us feel like we're doing something.
Here you are, puffing out your chest and asserting that "Hell no! I'll not be voting for a Democrat nor a Republican in the next election". And you'll spend time pouring over information, choosing just the right third party or independent candidate who will most closely mirror your worldview. You will march down to the polling place, secure in the belief that you have done some sort of "civic duty". Really, you're passing responsibility from your hands into an invisible system so you can then say "don't blame me, I voted for "X"". The time you spent reading up on the candidates on the issues on the important matters of the day, the time you spent deciding, the time you spent voting will have amounted to nothing. Those in power will not have noticed one bit. It means nothing.
Polls are taken, published, trumpeted by partisan media. People point and say "See? Most of the country agrees with me!" and it will make you feel as though you are "in the right" that you are connected to something that in some way will effect outcomes. The board of directors at General Electric, at Comcast, are as aware of you, of your dreams, your goals, your complaints, your anger and rage as you are of the bacteria that live in the soil in the dirt in the postage-stamp sized bit of grass in front of your house or apartment.
When a tiny percentage of the population own virtually everything and forty percent of the population own zero - not one bit of anything why would you think that this "politics" thing, this thing which is done for your entertainment, to keep you amused and engaged like a 2pm game of Bejeweled is actually going to matter to the people in power?
Geez, I'm a fuckin' ray of sunshine today, ain't I?
You are welcome on my lawn.
Hm.. no that's too short and readable by a mere mortal.
There, fixed it for ya..
Downvote this garbage, PLEASE. This is becoming such a tired meme born of cynics who fail to objectively look at the world around them. What the hell did people honestly think was going to happen... that Obama was going to change the world and usher in a utopia to please every libertarian and liberal alike? Jesus people! The president is clearly a moderate and a consensus builder. Despite conservative talking points, there has clearly been a concerted effort to engage conservative and liberal proposals and find something that both find appealing... something lacking the last 8 fucking years! Did we suddenly forget that the previous president stopped engaging other nations, ordered people to be tortured, invaded sovereign nations, passed absolutely NO domestic bills to address any looming problems (healthcare? They had the House/Senate/White House), Guantanamo, lying about weapons of mass destruction, an anti-science agenda actively trying to discredit science findings, ousting CIA agents to discredit them, commuting the sentences administration members who committed crimes, Ordering the NSA to wiretap US civilians... did everyone suddenly get amnesia and forget what the fuck happened during the last 8 years of the Bush administration!?
Jesus Christ, people... I don't approve of everything the Obama administration does but shut the fuck up, please... this "meet the new boss same as the old boss" bullshit is so grating. Yes, Obama is a politician and does politician things. Yes, the Obama administration has continued some of the Bush era prcatices. But there is no fucking way you can objectively sit there and tell me he is anywhere NEAR the level of fuckup the previous president was... he is a massive improvement.
Tell you what, come talk to me when Obama knowingly manufactures evidence to start a war with Iran, discredits everyone who knows he's lying, and pardons Timothy Geithner after he leaks classified information to the press... then punches a baby in the face... then we'll talk about how bad Obama is.
My political take on the situation is that Obama is facing criticism that he isn't "business friendly", and the GOP is using this impression to pin the lingering jobs problem on him. For this reason, he has been reluctant to address mergers.
I don't agree with the GOP on the business-friendly issue; for companies have plenty of profits and cash of late. However, in politics, impressions are everything and Obama is facing re-election soon.
Table-ized A.I.
Mesh Networks, Mesh Networks, Mesh Networks, Mesh Networks!
*sigh*
If only it were really that simple. Unfortunately, it isn't. Mesh Networks would suffer from quite a few problems trying to create a 2nd Internet with the infrastructure owned and operated entirely by the people.
1) Density. If every single person had this magical box fully capable of doing everything we wanted it to do in Los Angeles, it would not be able to communicate with everyone doing it in Las Vegas. There are large patches of dead space in which the only way to get across are dedicated pathways, which shockingly, are expensive. The only difference between the Atlantic ocean and Death Valley is the cost of running of the fiber through it. Other than that, they are pretty much the same as far as networking is concerned.
2) Bandwidth. We better create a Darknet with distribution principles similar to Freenet. Even then, it will be slow. You just can't take for granted edge network delivery, aka, CDN's like Akamai for granted. If Mesh Network nodes are like little leaves, then it will really suck if the whole network is connected together with twigs and branches. You actually need the ISPs here with their fat ass trunks and peering and transit agreements.
3) Latency. Another thing you are taking for granted, and probably the worst one to be taking for granted. With CDN, I have seen as little as 4 hops to get to Google. Most places you need to get to will be between 10-15 hops, and a good portion of on fiber. Meaning, pulses of light . That 30-70ms latency you have been enjoying is going to get a lot worse with Mesh Networking. It's just Physics. Remember all the little twigs and branches right? Well to get all the way from one end of Los Angeles to the other I am betting you will be going through dozens of wireless nodes. So on top of being limited the biggest pipe for bandwidth along the route, you are going to be enjoying latencies that make most real time stuff like gaming, voip, etc. impossible.
Every last mile provider sucks ass. They all do because there really is very little competition. But we need the backbone ISPs like Verizon, AT&T, etc. They are the *only* way we currently have to create an actual functioning Internet with the peering and transit agreements that make the whole darn thing work.
There is *only* ONE way Mesh Networking can succeed. We must have wireless POPs distributed throughout all of the communities that allow those Mesh Network nodes to connect and send traffic through them that they can't reach, which is going to be a lot more than you think.
Mesh Networks are a pipe dream. If the government can't get together, or won't get together, to stop shit like this NBC-Comcast merger, then we have no hope at all of getting cities to lay down their own fiber and start operating their own wireless POPs for the citizenry.
Which is really really really fucking sad . We gave easements to the telecom corporations for years with the understanding they would contribute to the community. Not only have the telcos mostly fucked the people, but now they are gouging the crap out of us. We the people own most of the damned land they run their fiber across. When are we going to start to see a payback on all the leeway and incentives we have given those bastards for decades?
Why is it that when cities start wanting to put down their own fiber the telcos start crying like little bitches and bring out the lawyers?
The whole thing just reeks of corruption and oppression at this point. The Internet is dying at this point. It will turn into some sort of pathetic shadow of itself. What I predict will happen is that people will go back to Sneakernet style sharing since storage is getting so massive. At that point it would probably be faster and safer anyways. Not only will the bandwidth be expensive, but anything that is not being paid a premium will be throttled down into something not viable for its purpose. Encryption might not be outlawed, but it will certainly be given lower priority because they can't analyze it and figure out if it is competition to them.