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 Sunday, July 21, 2002

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 Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television
Ever feel like you're brain is turning to mush when you're watching TV? This 1977 -- that's right, 1977! -- book lays out some pretty convincing arguments that this is the ultimate purpose of television, as envisioned by the people who control it. Far from being a tool for democracy, information, or even entertainment, it is a potent tool for control of the masses. It is 'an eye in the sky' that, by necessity, excludes everything outside of its focal plane; and if didn't happen on TV, it didn't happen. After you read this book, you'll never watch TV the same again. You'll most certainly want to watch it much less, if at all.
« 11:30:51 PM »  « comments () »

 Ted Turner sues St. Helena group - The Beaufort Gazette. National media tycoon Ted Turner is attempting to wrestle 68 acres on St. Helena Island away from the descendants of slaves who inhabited the coastal region. Turner has been called the nation's largest private landowner, with 1.7 million acres.

(Hey, Kunte Kinte, Massa wan' his land back, boy. He gon' build big resort. You, me, and Fiddla git jobs as porters. Grits, dummy. (b/w InstaPundit))
« 8:08:34 PM »  « comments () »

 Fair Use advocates silenced by Big Brother - The Register. Advocates trying to speak for regular Internet users were basically told to sit down and shut up during a "public" workshop on digital rights management dominated by IT heavyweights and Big Hollywood at the U.S. Department of Commerce Wednesday.

(It's important for you, me -- us -- to know where we stand in the minds of BigCo's and Big Government: we're consumers. The only right we should have is to consume whatever they decide to sell to us. As horrible as most popular movies and music products are, do we really need to buy any of it? Or copy it? This whole DRM push could be upended by folks just stopping and thinking about what it is they're purchasing in the first place. But that's where they get you: most of us don't think. Most of us do as we're told. They say "Consume this! Buy that!" ... and most of us do it.

Related:
Take Down the Music Industry (Kuro5hin)
The Internet Debacle (JanisIan.com))
« 7:51:42 PM »  « comments () »