Category Archives: News

Chill Factor

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, University of San Francisco, and University of Maine law school clinics have joined forces to produce Chilling Effects, a Web site devoted to educating the public on their rights within the First Amendment and copyright laws. “[It] offers background material and explanations of the law for people whose websites deal with topics such as Fan Fiction, Copyright, Domain Names and Trademarks, Anonymous Speech, and Defamation.” Have a look at the database of cease and desist letters sent by megacorporations to perceived violators of their copyrights to get an idea why the site has that name.

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Clinton on Bush

Former President Clinton had some unkind words on Friday about the Bush administration’s shoddy handling of corporate malfeasance and the Middle East. Bravo.One other thing I’ve been thinking about: people are saying that Shrub’s administration is like his father’s in that it’s strong on foreign policy and weak on domestic affairs. What?! Strong on foreign policy?! I’d say they’ve been obstinately unilateral, un-educated, tone deaf and destructive.

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Family Valueless

Sesame Street intends to add an HIV-positive puppet character to its South African broadcast, in an attempt to help spread understanding in this AIDS-ravaged country. Like a pack of ignorant, reactionary panderers, five Republicans from the House Commerce Committee have threatened to cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the face of this small-scale humanitarian gesture — I guess because it offends their narrow-minded and stereotypical view of AIDS relief of any kind as an endorsement of homosexuality. These people are fanatical right-wingers and are effectively working to undermine basic human compassion. Though the Republicans have apparently been placated, it’s discouraging the way that their brand of reckless idiocy can gain attention — and that the world doesn’t bristle with disgust at it. Those who are offended should write polite but strongly-worded letters of protest to your Congressperson or directly to Committe Chairman Rep. W.J. Tauzin (R-LA).

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Represent

Rep. James TraficantWow, Rep. James Traficant is a total loon. I caught his freak-show testimony before the House ethics committee on C-SPAN today — an insane combination of bizarre weeping willow hairstyle, defiantly tacky skinny tie and televangelist’s oratory. It reminded me of some kind of governmental hijinks from the 19th century, a bizarre tale of hucksterism and megalomania you’d only read about in The New Yorker. Only a thousand times funnier.

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Telecon

WorldComWorldCom, only the most recent company to fess up to its scandalous accounting practices, has got me thinking. First, I can’t imagine that this is the last accounting scandal we’ll see, and not just in the corporate sector. There are lots of economic numbers that the government has been churning out for the past several years that will be similarly re-adjusted, further undermining our struggling economy. Much messiness lies ahead.Second, I think this terrible economic hangover is the result of an MBA culture run amuck. We’re emerging from an age now wherein corporate officers have no idea how to run the businesses for which they are ostensibly responsible; they’re self-styled deal makers who are interested only in moving money around, cutting deals and talking in the abstract about ‘vision.’ (I know this from working at my last job at a major Web services agency, where neither the CEO nor the COO had a clue about how to run a services company, much less how to put up a Web page.)The next generation of successful CEOs will be much more hands on, will know how to use and sell their own services, will roll up their sleeves and become engaged in the development and the marketing of their own products. Less the Jack Welch-style of leadership, more the Bill Gates or Steve Jobs-style of leadership.Finally, isn’t “WorldCom” a completely ridiculous name, when you stop and think about it? It’s the kind of name they’d give a fictional, evil multinational in a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

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Village Veloce

Bar VeloceIt’s hard to believe that this throwback to the era of random violence happened just three blocks from where I live now and just a block from where I lived for two years: “Patrons of Bar Veloce in the East Village were held hostage by a man who sprayed kerosene on them and then threatened to set them afire early [Sunday&#93, according to the police. Three people and the suspect were shot.” — Al Baker, The New York Times.

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Mob Mentality

GottiThe mafia took a step deeper into mythology today when John Gotti passed away. On the news, they showed images of Gotti in his heyday, parading down Mulberry Street in Little Italy, and that New York couldn’t seem further away — today Mulberry Street is an upscale shopping concourse paraded by fashion victims and moneyed hipsters.

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New Look

The Wall Street JournalThe redesigned Wall Street Journal is out and it looks pretty good. It’s still hard to believe that they spent US$232 million on this effort, but I guess they know money. As for the redesign as a possible harbinger of some change in character for this venerable rag… well, if lines like, “Please excuse us if we take a moment to mention our make-over. We figure we’re entitled every 40 years or so,” are any indication, then the Journal’s singular brand of ‘progressive conservative’ smarminess is in no immediate danger.

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