JohnJac's Favorite Posts Of The Weeks
from the bad-gov't,-bad dept
Last week JohnJac totally dominated the favorite comments, so we figured we might as well let him do the favorite posts of the week this week.I really, really, wanted this post to be funny and optimistic. However as I read Techdirt, it became clear this week had a theme: governments over-reacting to technology. This point was driven home when Egypt shut their people off from the Internet: I've snickered in the past at other governments' attempts to block skype or to block all of YouTube over a single video. If you had asked me last week, would a government go so far as to shut all internet access down, I would have told you no way.
While we're on the subject, check out this post over at Marginal Revolution, talking about how this move is likely to backfire for the Egyptian government.
Other governments are not immune from over-reaction, but thankfully not to the extent Egypt has gone.
- Government Putting Quite A Lot Of Effort Into Tracking Down 'Anonymous'
- Nanny State: More Politicians Against Pedestrians Listening To Headphones Or Texting
- Spanish Gov't Simply Reinstates US-Driven Copyright Bill, Despite It Being Voted Down
- US Government Pushing Pro And Anti-Privacy Internet Rules At The Same Time
- How Facebook Dealt With The Tunisian Government Trying To Steal Every User's Passwords
- Massachussetts Legislature Bans Twitter From Office Computers
- Artist Facing 15 Years In Jail For The Crime Of Videotaping His Own Arrest
But all hope isn't lost: On the lighter side, there is hope that people are using all the tools available to them to create something new. The standout story here is Pomplamoose. I just love what they are doing. My Favorite Comment of the week goes to John B. On Mike's story about Lee Harvey Oswald's coffin, John B. said this: "This post isn't about tech, but it's about dirt, so there's that."
Many thanks to Mike and the Techdirt Community for letting me share my thoughts.
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The cynic's answer is to wait. Seeing that many politicians are >60, it's somewhat difficult to expect them all to be able to learn new tricks and to understand modern technology. For instance, they are used to a world where copyrights and patents are the norm, and they see the software and the internet as a hindrance/interference.
So, let's be patient. Like the dinosaurs, in a few years they'll be extinct.
And after they're gone we'll be the new dinosaurs...
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and im still wondering why exactly anyone would want to buy a used coffin.. im thinking thats really got to violate several state and federal laws
.....at least i sure hope it would....
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Their slogan:
"In with the old.
Out with the new,
We have a greener way to plant you."
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That's the theme of every week.
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"The old wheel turns, and the same spoke comes up. It's all been done before, and will be again."
-Sherlock Holmes (The Valley of Fear)
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I've snickered in the past at other governments' attempts to block skype or to block all of YouTube over a single video. If you had asked me last week, would a government go so far as to shut all internet access down, I would have told you no way.
The objective of any government is to remain in power - no government is ever happy about losing power. It's been this way since Adam. The means by which they achieve this has changed and will continue to change in the future (although there are common themes - eg: control access to information; restrict basic "freedoms" like speech, assembly, etc).
Alas, I guess this is one of those instances where the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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Reminds me of Tiananmen Square.
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Like every company have its "corporate culture" so do any other administrative entity, until that culture changes nothing will change, it is not politicians who change things most people learn how to do things one way and will oppose any changes to that routine, politicians are not different, young or old they all will learn how to do something with others and will fallow those paths, sometimes consciously but mostly unconsciously.
Culture change doesn't happen in a decade it takes decades for change to take hold, so you are partially right that the old power not the old people will be changed by the new people who will bring a new culture to it, if they can bypass the unforgiving political environment that forges a politico today, if they cannot brake that, they will not change anything, culture can last 1000's of years, just look at religion to see it at work.
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Its like you WANT to engage with your community.
I mean come on, people don't want to be connected to. They just want you to tell them how to think so that they can go about their day doing whatever mindless operation they do every day.
This way they can leave the thinking to the people who think they are important, like politicians and executives in multinational corporations. You know, the people that are willing to SACRIFICE your rights for you to think you feel safer.
It really makes you think, these are great times that we live in when we can rely on those with more power and influence than us to think for us and make decisions for us that they tell us will make our lives better. And isn't that what progress is all about?
Sincerely,
-Pjerky
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The question for governments is. How do you cope when you are an idiot and do stupid things?
The simplest thing to do when you screw up is to blame someone or something other than yourself. To crack down on who or what you are blaming. In Egypt the cause of all this unrest is "COMMUNICATIONS". Twitter, facebook, cell phones, blogs, web sites, they all need to be shut down. The reason is they are causing this unrest ... until you take a step back.
Looking at it from a distance. You see simple things. A government that doesn't listen to its constituents. You see poor management of resources, no foresight, and no view of the future.
You see, the government follows the lead of business. They extract every cent they can from the population and give nothing back.
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-Sir Terry Pratchett, Going Postal.
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cwf+rtb
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