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Landlords, ISPs Team Up To Rip Off Tenants On Broadband (backchannel.com)
"Network operators like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and ATT, in cahoots with [real estate] developers and landlords, routinely use a breathtaking array of kickbacks, lawyerly games of Twister, blunt threats, and downright illegal activities to lock up buildings in exclusive arrangements," reports Harvard Law Professor Susan Crawford.
itwbennett writes: Eight years ago, the FCC issued an order banning exclusive agreements between landlords and ISPs, but a loophole is being exploited, leaving many tenants in apartment buildings with only one choice of broadband service provider. The loophole works like this: Instead of having an exclusive agreement with one provider, the landlords refuse to let any other companies than their chosen providers access their properties...
"This astounding, enormous, decentralized payola scheme affects millions of American lives," Crawford writes, revealing Comcast's revenue-sharing proposals for property owners and urging cities (and national lawmakers) to require broadband neutrality in residential buildings. Other loopholes are also being exploited, Crawford writes, and "it's why commercial tenants in NYC pay through the nose for awful Internet access service in the fanciest of commercial buildings... We've got to take landlords out of the equation -- all they're doing is looking for payments and deals...and the giant telecom providers in our country are more than happy to pay up."
"This astounding, enormous, decentralized payola scheme affects millions of American lives," Crawford writes, revealing Comcast's revenue-sharing proposals for property owners and urging cities (and national lawmakers) to require broadband neutrality in residential buildings. Other loopholes are also being exploited, Crawford writes, and "it's why commercial tenants in NYC pay through the nose for awful Internet access service in the fanciest of commercial buildings... We've got to take landlords out of the equation -- all they're doing is looking for payments and deals...and the giant telecom providers in our country are more than happy to pay up."
There may be situations where a landlord has a good reason to limit who is accessing and modifying the cable/wire infrastructure of a property - so, a blanket ban on such is probably not a good idea.
On the other hand, I don't have any problem with banning the kickbacks/payments that encourage the practice at the cost of renter choice.
Don't you understand. To Trump's loyal followers, what Trump does is irrelevant. It doesn't matter. His actions, his behavior, his history, they have no bearing on his fitness and suitability. All that counts is that he hates Mexicans and Muslims, and will do some vague things that will somehow make everything better.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
But he really doesn't. His claims as to his acumen are largely nonsense, it's becoming clear that his claims of wealth have been heavily exagerated, in part to build up an undeserved reputation as a wheeler dealer. I guess that means he gets what he wants, much like any snake oil dealer will con the gullible into parting with their cash in return for empty promises.
Hillary's a shitty candidate, but she'll make a better president. It really is that simple. A vote for Trump is a vote for a con man who, as even you admit, basically says anything to get a vote. Worse, a vote for Trump is simply rewarding the man who is guaranteeing the GOP's agonies go forward. They need to excise themselves of the kinds of people who vote for Trump, because that's a fading demographic. The GOP has known that for years, which is why they put some much effort on the ground to build support among Latino voters, which Trump has literally destroyed to gain louder cheers.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
That's a damn lie!
First of all, Hillary was in Congress for eight years total, which for those of us who can do math, adds up to less than one decade. Bernie has been in Congress since 1991.
Second, their records on things like gun control and foreign policy are almost diametrically opposed (and on every issue where they differ, Bernie gets it right while Hillary gets it wrong!).
Third, Bernie has integrity, and has had the same platform for his entire career. Hillary is fucking corrupt and her platform blows with the political winds. She cannot be trusted.
They are nothing alike, at all, whatsoever.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Maybe Trump himself doesn't hate Mexicans and Muslims, there's no real way to know. Trump continuously contradicts himself, he has never been in office and thus has no political record, maybe he just rants about Mexicans and Muslims because he wants to win votes from the demographic who fear the "other" out there. What I do know is that his supporters hate Mexicans and Muslims and are in fact involved in an incestuous relationship with White Nationalist groups. Look at pro-Trump forums that purport to oppose racism, antisemitism and xenophobia. They all use codified language borrowed directly from white supremacists who inherited that language. You'll frequently see them talking about "degeneracy" in the American people. This is a concept adopted from the Nazis. "Degenerates" is code for all non-white races and all non-heterosexuals. Take a look at how "cuckold" and "cuck" moved between Stormfront and Vanguard and the wider pro-Trump Internet. You can delude yourself all you want about Trump's actual views but the truth is that his campaign is built upon a base of white nationalism and xenophobia.
Your viewpoint on what is or isn't "collectivism" is so skewed you think EVERYTHING that makes modern societies work is collectivism.
No man is an island, not even you. YOU benefit from the government you hate so much, in fact as a business owner, you probably benefit MORE than others.