Sender: David Cloutman <•••@••.•••>
On Tue, 28 Nov 1995, Richard K. Moore wrote:
>
>
> Here's the final installment. Discussion invited.
>
<snip>
>
> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
> INSTALLMENT 3/3
> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
<snip>
> All the manifesto's rhetoric about individual freedom and dynamic competition
> is deception -- the agenda is totally anti-competitive, anti-individual, and
> anti-free-enterprise. A century's progress in achieving dynamic, competitive,
> and diverse communications industries -- based on appropriate and non-stifling
> regulation -- would be thrown out the window all at once.
>
<snip>
> * * *
<snip>
>
> What _is_ highly objectionable in the manifesto is the deceptive manipulation
> of libertarian/individualist sentiment, the ignoring of the Internet precedent
> and the lessons to be learned from that, the absence of provisions for freedom
> of communication and privacy for individuals, the discounting of the proven
> constructive role for appropriate regulation, and the disguised corporate
> power-grab inherent in the proposed package of polices.
>
<snip>
Since this issue was first brought up, the phenomenah of major
corperations taking credit for the tremendous groth of new media has been
on the upswing here in the states. TCI, for example, who soon will be
replacing Viacom as my local cable provider (since they bought Viacom
out), has been plugging themselves and the entire cable industry as being
the way of the future. Appearently by trying to make Gibsonesque
commercials, rambeling on about information revolutions (blah blah
blah) and trying to make cable television look as revolutionary as it did
twenty years ago (Fifteen chanels?! Unbeliveable!) they seem to think
that they can revitalize what is essentially a medium dying a slow and
agonizing death.
Along the same lines, IBM has been trying to take credit for digitized
books (Project Gutemberg, ect.) and just about anything else that they
can think of in order to try to pawn off their overpriced, and gennerally
substandard computer systems. They want us to think that because we are
suddenly aware of Internet services that it is a "great time to be
alive"... (blah blah blah) Those of us in the know laugh and say
"whatever", but lets face it, the average schmuck (at least in the States)
belives these commercials because they go along with the great myth of
western consumer culture that through ever increasing technology our lives
will get better, and since no one else has done it yet, the corperations
see it in their best interests to take credit for these things. After all,
IBM has been going down hill ever since the rest of the world (with the
exception of Seymore Cray) realized that there was little maket for mini
computers and mainfraims, and that the real market was in workstations
and micro-computers. Once IBM woke up to this fact, Dozens of competitors
had already filled these niches in the market.
Lets face it, industry generated documents, such as this "Magna Carta" are
really the death cries of corperations who have failed to adapt to the
changing world. We can only hope that people will wise up and ignore
them. If we are to do anything about the coperate takeover of Cyberspace
TM, then it importent that we work on a grassroots level to educate our
friends, families and neighbors (physical and virtual) as to the source
of this propaganda campaign that streaches from the Captains of industry
to the oval office itself.
_____________________________________________________________________
|"The great danger... in beliving yourself | |
| especially chosen is that is becomes easy to | David Cloutman |
| view those who are not your people as God's |--------------------|
| especially unchosen" -Bishop John Shelby Spong | •••@••.••• |
|________________________________________________|____________________|
| Ask the Philostopher Homepage: http://www.ccnet.com/~felixm |
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Posted by Andrew Oram - •••@••.••• - Moderator: CYBER-RIGHTS (CPSR)
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