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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

DailyKos Thugs Bully Paper to Pull Netroot Nation Story

July 22, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Just as I finish a piece laughing at DailyKos for claiming that it is conservatives that feel they have to “create their own alternate reality” because of their “rigid ideology,” I find a story out of The Austin American-Statesman where the DailyKos forced that paper to pull a story that had a mildly satirical take on last weekend’s Netroots Nation conference in Texas. Apparently, the DailyKos folks didn’t like The Austin American-Statesman’s “reality” so the Kossacks flooded the paper with their insistence on creating a new one.

The original article by the Statesman’s Patrick Beach knocked the nutrooters for the so-called “surprise” Gore visit, said it turned into a “faint-in,” and that their general feeling was “terribly self-confirming,” among other snippy comments… fun, but snippy. The general tone of the piece was that of amusement at how seriously the nutrooters took themselves. And, even more galling to said nutrooters, this story was the front page editorial of Sunday’s edition. (Original, Google cached version of Beach’s piece.)

This did not sit well with the nutrooters in question.

Continue reading “DailyKos Thugs Bully Paper to Pull Netroot Nation Story”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Debunking the Google-Yahoo Antitrust Myths

July 20, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

In advance of the Senate and House antitrust hearings on Google-Yahoo, I thought it would be useful to debunk some of the primary antitrust Myths you will likely hear.

Myth #1:

There can’t be an antitrust problem as long as consumers are just one click away from a competitive search engine.

This is intentional misdirection. Google does not get paid by users, but by advertisers and websites. The antitrust concern here is not about “competition” for free search engine use, but competition for paid search advertising.

Google is exploiting the “Internet choice paradox” (PDF file) where because users have near infinite choices to reach Internet content, they assume content businesses must have as much choice in advertising to Internet users as users have in reaching content. They don’t.
Continue reading “Debunking the Google-Yahoo Antitrust Myths”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Google’s Cerf floats trial balloon: “Why not nationalize the Internet?”

July 8, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

Google’s Internet Evangelist, Vint Cerf recently asked publicly: “Should the Internet be owned and maintained by the government, just like the highways?” according to a post by Erick Schonfeld on TechCrunch.

  • Since the Government neither owns or maintains the Internet today, Google may have much grander plans for ‘nationalizing the Internet’ than anybody appreciated.
  • Maybe we should take Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt much more seriously when he declares: “The goal of the company is not to monetize anything,” and “The goal is to change the world — and monetization is a technique to do that.”

Let’s dissect how radical and destructive Google’s notions for nationalizing the Internet are.
Continue reading “Google’s Cerf floats trial balloon: “Why not nationalize the Internet?””

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Inernet - Islam - Media Bias - News - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

WaPo After Free Republic Again, Now Over Barack-is-a-Muslim Email

June 28, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Washington Post published a June 28th piece geared to protect Barack Obama from the nagging rumors that he is a secret Muslim, rumors that have been circulating since 2004. The Post’s Matthew Mosk penned an attack on Free Republic, based on an Obama flak who claims she has somehow discovered that Freepers are to blame, if not initially responsible, for floating the Barack-is-a-Muslim chain email that so many millions of Americans have found in their email boxes over the last four years. But, the Washington Post’s article is so filled with assumptions and a singular desire not to really investigate the matter that it boggles the mind. Naturally, all the journalistic missteps serve to shield Barack Obama from any controversy and make all opposition seem nefarious or unhinged.

The Obama flak in question is one Danielle Allen of the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton. Mosk wishes to assure us that she is one smart cookie, apparently. To settle any question to the contrary, we are treated to some earnest, if over-the-top, adulation for good Doctor Allen. Allen is called a “razor-sharp, 36-year-old political theorist,” that she’s “gained valuable insight into the way political information circulates,” and that she works at the institute “most famous for having been the research home of Albert Einstein.” Mosk tells us that Allen “boasts two doctorates, one in classics from Cambridge University and the other in government from Harvard University.” The Post tells us that one winter morning Allen was “studying in her office at the Institute for Advanced Study, the renowned haven for some of the nation’s most brilliant minds.” Mosk also tells us that Allen “works alongside groundbreaking physicists, mathematicians and social scientists. They don’t have to teach, and they face no quotas on what they publish. Their only mandate is to work in the tradition of Einstein, wrestling with the most vexing problems in the universe.”

Jeeze, next Mosk will be telling us that Danielle Allen is the virtual reincarnation of Einstein himself!
Continue reading “WaPo After Free Republic Again, Now Over Barack-is-a-Muslim Email”

00Publius Contributor - Education - Inernet - News - Patriotism - Society/Culture - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

What for a Blog?

June 25, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Everyone is talking about the “importance” of blogging and wondering where it will all lead at least where it concerns the influence blogging might have on politics. There was even a warning that bloggers are facing oppression and arrest at an increasing rate in some despotic countries proving that blogging is already causing at least some ripples in the political waters about the world. There is no reason at all to assume this is a fluke or that these ripples will cease to radiate from bloggers any time soon. All in all, to many it seems blogging is a newfangled concern we all face.

But is it new? And what the heck is it all for, really?

To answer the first question, let’s be clear about the relative newness of blogging. The only things that make it new is that it is done via a computer and has opened up the world of social comment for more people to indulge in then ever before. But we have seen something the like of blogging before. In fact, without a past relative of the blog we would not have became the United States of America in the first place.

Continue reading “What for a Blog?”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Jailed for Blogging

June 20, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Bloggers are being arrested more and more as the importance of the Internet is realized by governments across the world, at least so warns the BBC. It seems an alarming report where community activists and democracy advocates are finding themselves being oppressed by government, arrested, and maybe even tortured because of their blogging. But, one little fact of the story is never really focussed on in this alarming BBC report on the release of the WIA report from the University of Washington. The fact that bloggers aren’t threatened much in democratic nations has been glossed over by this report.

Unfortunately, a cursory reading of this piece would leave the reader with the vague feeling that people all over the world are being arrested merely because they are blogging, but that isn’t quite the case. The way this report is written serves as a perfect example of a PCism more concerned with upsetting the tender sensibilities of tyrannical, undemocratic governments, than in reporting the oppression of its citizens. It’s a PCism gone so far that it makes the report uninformative at least to the most important aspect of the reason these bloggers are being arrested.

Here is how the BEEB starts their almost whitewashed report:

More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments, says a report.

Since 2003, 64 people have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog, says the University of Washington annual report.

The BBC also gravely informs us that, “Citizens have faced arrest and jail for blogging about many different topics,” and that “Arrested bloggers exposed corruption in government, abuse of human rights or suppression of protests. They criticised public policies and took political figures to task.”

The report goes on to explain why this new threat to bloggers has arisen.

The report said the rising number of arrests was testament to the “growing” political importance of blogging. It noted that arrests tended to increase during times of “political uncertainty”, such as around general elections or during large scale protests.

But one thing the BBC report does not do is fully explain what sort of nations are making all these arrests. Now, to the BEEB’s credit, they do include one little line to let us know were some of these arrests have been carried out.

More than half of all the arrests since 2003 have been made in China, Egypt and Iran, said the report.

But, still, the reader could easily miss the fact that this threat to free speech is, for the most part, occurring in nations of a certain nature, nations that are not free and open societies.

Continue reading “Jailed for Blogging”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Transcript of Lecture on Google, Net Neutrality, Monopolies, Click Fraud, Privacy

June 20, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

Unleashed: Transcript of Griffin/Cleland talk on Google, net neutrality, monopolies, click fraud, privacy

For those who like the written format, here is the transcript of ChipGriffin’s interview of me on all things Google.

The transcript is just below the podcast button to hear the interview.

This interview turned out to be one of the most comprehensive and in-depth discussions I have had on all things Google — that’s been captured for web listening or reading.
Continue reading “Transcript of Lecture on Google, Net Neutrality, Monopolies, Click Fraud, Privacy”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Why a Lack of Openness Sullies the Integrity of Google’s Ad Auctions

June 9, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

Does Google warrant the current exceptional leap-of-faith in the integrity of its dominant ad auction model, given its near total lack of openness, transparency, independent auditability or third party oversight? There is a growing body of evidence that Google does not.

The New York Times article today by Miguel Helft, “The Human Hands behind the Google Money Machine,” is a must read for anyone following Google or concerned about the openness and transparency of public markets. It is also a little treasure trove of fresh information on Google.

Why a lack of openness sullies the integrity of Google’s ad auctions.

First, it is widely accepted that public markets operate best when open and transparent.

Google’s ad auction model has become one of the world’s most important public markets. Google is increasingly becoming the world’s primary public information broker. Google brokers:

  • Information for over 700 million search users worldwide, over three to six times their nearest rivals;
  • Advertisement placement for over a million advertisers several times more than their nearest competitors;
  • Monetization for over a million websites several times more than their nearest competitors.

Google is also not open or transparent.
Continue reading “Why a Lack of Openness Sullies the Integrity of Google’s Ad Auctions”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Congress - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Can you trust Google to obey the rules? Is Google accountable to anyone?

June 4, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

In monitoring Google as closely as I do, it has become increasingly clear that Google does not believe it has to obey the rules, standards, regulations and laws that others routinely obey and respect. Google increasingly operates like a self-declared, virtual sovereign nation, largely unaccountable to the rules and mores of the rest of the world.

There is plentiful evidence of Google’s unaccountability; see the following analysis peppered generously with source links. The impetus for this analysis and documentation was Saul Hansel’s outstanding New York Times Blog: “Google fights for the right to hide its privacy policy.”

In a nutshell, Mr. Hansel spotlighted how Google is refusing to abide by the rule that its members must display a link to their privacy policy on their home page; and that this industry self-regulatory body is expected to bend its rules specifically to accomodate Google. This is not an isolated incident. Shirking the accountability that most everyone else respects is near standard operating procedure for Google.

Is Google accountable to anyone?
Continue reading “Can you trust Google to obey the rules? Is Google accountable to anyone?”

Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Technology

One Example of How Left Widely Funds Internet Operations

May 22, 2008 by

Think Progress Exposed

-By Eric Odom

More than 2.5 million people read pages of Think Progress every month. Quite a staggering number, and something free-market minded Americans should pay close attention to.

While some in mainstream communication realms might not see this as a significant story, many more of us are starting to uncover the dark agenda that drives the left wing propaganda machine at Think Progress.

What are the Origins of Think Progress?
Here is what we know…

1) Think Progress is a Project of The Center for American Progress Action Fund
The Center for American Progress Action Fund is a “progressive” think-tank. Their “partner” is The Center for American Progress, a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue code.

The Center for American Progress is ran by former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta. That’s right… Think Progress is essentially a tool of the Clinton machine.

In fact, George Soros and Halperin recruited Harold Ickes — chief fundraiser and former deputy chief of staff for the Clinton White House — to help organize the Center.

With this in mind, it’s interesting to notice the Center’s use of Think Progress to attack John McCain, when they won’t lift a finger to send negative attention to Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

So much for “non-partisan”.
Continue reading “One Example of How Left Widely Funds Internet Operations”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Why the EU’s concerned with a Google-Yahoo pact—Google is close to monopoly share in Europe

May 15, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

A Yahoo-Google search outsourcing pact arguably faces even more problems with European antitrust authorities than with the reported U.S. DOJ antitrust investigation, for two reasons:

First, this Yahoo-Google pact represents a horizontal market problem of collusion between leading direct search competitors; this is very different from the recent approval of the Google-DoubleClick merger, which was a vertical merger where DoubleClick was not found to be an actual direct competitor of Google. (Yahoo is universally viewed as one of Google’s top two direct competitors.)

Second, the market facts of search concentration in Europe put Google perilously close to the unofficial definition of a monopoly, which is 90% share of a market.
Continue reading “Why the EU’s concerned with a Google-Yahoo pact—Google is close to monopoly share in Europe”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - GOP - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

The Next Right Project

May 9, 2008 by

-By Warner Toodd Huston

Last October, Patrick Ruffini wrote a piece for Hugh Hewitt’s blog titled Information Gaps on the Right wherein Ruffini reminded us that most news outlets unsurprisingly lean leftward. He pointed out that this is one of the serious disabilities for the conservative viewpoint getting a wider hearing. Ruffini also highlighted the vast sea of paid-for bloggers that lefties like George Soros and the like are floating out there. It all amounts to the left having far longer reach than we do to set the agenda for the national debate.

And it isn’t getting any better.

The Left also seems to be developing a lead in powerful feeders mechanisms that do little more than tee up information for other blogs. ThinkProgress provides a valuable service to the left by leveraging a full-time research staff to be the first to report and frame up news stories. Their content is rarely witty and original and isn’t meant to be. It’s just meant to provide context and a prod for others to cover these stories. The research backing also means they do the legwork to connect the dots in ways that bloggers rarely do. If John McCain says something today, they’re all about telling you what he said about the same thing in March, what he said in 2003, what he said in 1999, and so on.

Of course, there are a few places we can go as conservatives to get a more conservative take on the News. There is Michelle Malkin, Powerline blog, and a host of others. Not to mention the great work we do over at Newsbusters and I should remind people to make Newsbusters a daily visit for news on the liberal slant in the media. If you want a site that drives the agenda on that subject (liberal bias in the news) then Newsbusters is the place. (disclosure: I am a writer at Newsbusters, for those who don’t already know that)

So, the general thought is that we are behind the left in getting our agenda talked about. As Matthew Sheffield of Newsbusters said:

Ruffini’s point here is very well-taken and one I’ve been trying to get a lot of conservative groups to realize: the right is so far behind when it comes to original reporting and research online. Unfortunately, it’s been a tough job trying to convince people of the great need we have on the right for focused, targeted blogs.

So, what do we do about it? We HAVE to do something, right?

Well, Ruffini, Soren Dayton, and Jon Henke have teamed up to do just that. With a new project called The Next Right. They intend to fulfill the role of furthering the agenda like so many liberal blogs already do for their side.

It’s no secret that the right operates at a severe disadvantage to the left when it comes to building online political infrastructure. People point to ActBlue and Obama’s massive fundraising advantage, but the problem cuts deeper: netroots activists on the left have built critical mass around an idea that regular people on the Internet can get their hands dirty and remix Democratic politics. They not only raise money. They recruit candidates. They fund full-time investigative journalism to ambush Republicans. They act as a party whip, creating consequences for Democrats who, in their view, don’t act like Democrats. They volunteer and flock to states with key races. The right can build all the tools it wants, but without a narrative and a rallying point for action, it will be for naught.

So, take a quick stop over at the placeholder page for The Next Right at http://thenextright.com/. Sign up for an email notification when they are ready to go live. This is something to keep our eyes on folks. We really need to address our IDD problems…. that would be information deficit disorder!

Continue reading “The Next Right Project”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Comcast-Pando Networks’ “P2P Bill of Rights and Responsibilities” solves multiple problems

April 23, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

In a breakthrough agreement and announcement (read the release at bottom), Comcast and Pando Networks, (the leading managed P2P content delivery service) agreed to:

  • Lead creation of a “P2P Bill of Rights and Responsibilities” for P2P users and ISPs; and
  • Create a process to better “share test methodologies and results” among all P2P providers and ISPs so everyone can:
  • Learn how P2P providers can optimize their applications for all types of networks; and
  • “More efficiently deliver legal content.”

This is a profoundly significant development because it solves multiple thorny problems:
Continue reading “Comcast-Pando Networks’ “P2P Bill of Rights and Responsibilities” solves multiple problems”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Why “White Spaces” is just corporate welfare innovation

April 16, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

The Hill has a good article highlighting the growing “battle” over “White Spaces,” or the potential for use of the buffer spectrum bands in-between TV channels to ensure that there is no interference with TV signals.

What I want to spotlight here is how many in the tech industry seem to think they can carry the word-banner “innovation,” like the biblical Ark of the Covenant, to defeat anyone standing in the way of their quest for corporate welfare.

The Wireless Innovation Alliance, led by Google and its “Information Commons” poodles (the New America Foundation, FreePress, and Public Knowledge), has apparently suckered other tech companies (Microsoft, Dell and HP) into shielding and giving cover for Google’s broader information commons public policy agenda, which is needed in order for Google to fulfill it’s megalomaniacal mission “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

Moreover, many tech companies must think that “playing the innovation card” in Washington is like an all-you-can-eat ticket to feed at the public trough.

Let’s get down to brass tacks here.
Continue reading “Why “White Spaces” is just corporate welfare innovation”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Google is not warning its users of its role in one of largest cyber-security breaches ever on the Net

April 6, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

USA Today broke a much under-appreciated and potentially blockbuster Internet security breach story: “Google searchers could end up with a new type of bug.” Kudos to Byron Acohido and Jon Swartz, who reported it in USA Today, and also blogged on it at ZeroDayThreat.com, a site for their book “Zero Day Threat” which defines a Zero Day Threat as “a threat so new that no viable protections against it exist.”

In a nutshell, the article and blog post explain how cybercrook hackers have figured out how to use and leverage Google’s search engine results “to spread spam, and carry out scams. Typically it also lets the attacker embed a keystroke logger, which collects and transmits your passwords and any other sensitive data you type online.”

This new cyber scam ring is expected to spread rapidly, increasing from a “few dozen major websites” today, to “hundreds of high-profile websites” in the next few weeks.

“…in March alone… security researchers found several hundred thousand corrupted Web pages returned in common Google search queries.”

Why this is a big deal?
Continue reading “Google is not warning its users of its role in one of largest cyber-security breaches ever on the Net”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Google to ‘Shut Down’ Capitol Switchboard Over Global Warming

April 3, 2008 by 1 Comment

Warner Todd Huston

Ah, Earf Day. The day when all the Chicken Littles and the occasional boy who cried wolf can get their fifteen minutes of attention. Don’t we just love the warm and fuzzies of claiming the mantle of God and “saving” the Earf from global warming? Well, The Washington Times Fishwrap blog reports that Google has joined the fray to save the Earf and they are going to do it by helping Kathleen Rogers of Earth Day Network to shut down the phone switchboard at the Capitol in Washington D.C. with the calls from “concerned citizens” who think that calling Washington on the phone can somehow stop global warming..

A group of environmental activists has enlisted Google to help flood the congressional switchboard with one million phone calls on Earth Day urging lawmakers to enact eco-friendly measures.

I’m tingling with excitement already. If I thought I could alter the solar activities really responsible for global climate change just by making a phone call… well, imagine the power? Maybe I could use my house phone to stop a hurricane or tornado, or better yet, use my cell phone influence the scores of the next few Superbowls. Well, I’d just be in heaven.

Naturally, our Earf Day prez thinks global warming is the “biggest threat” we’ve ever faced. No hyperbole there.

Continue reading “Google to ‘Shut Down’ Capitol Switchboard Over Global Warming”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Why ultimate FCC decision on Comcast network management is expected to be unanimous

March 5, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

(See end of this email for bottom line on why there will be a unanimous FCC decision on Comcast’s network management practices.)

It’s obvious that there is much more that is uncertain than certain after listening to the five-hour FCC En Banc hearing at Harvard on the FreePress and Vuze petitions on Comcast’s network management practices.

Professor Tim Wu, who coined the term net neutrality, was a panelist and framed the Harvard spectacle in CNET as a “…trial of the Internet. … Comcast is in the docket accused of crimes against the public interest.”

Well if this was a trial, Wu/FreePress et al did not prove their case, and certainly did not prove it “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Only in the “make-it-up-as-you-go-along” world of net neutrality is it an alleged”crime against the public interest” for an ISP to protect the quality of service for many users by imperceptively delaying the packet delivery of non-time sensitive applications for a few users.

FCC Commissioner Tate got all the first panelists to agree that there was a baseline need for “reasonable network management.” Even Professor Wu conceded that there was “good discrimination and bad discrimination,” just like there is “good cholestorol and bad cholestorol.”

Then the specific question before the FCC: was Comcast “reasonable” in its network management of p2p traffic in this instance?
Continue reading “Why ultimate FCC decision on Comcast network management is expected to be unanimous”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Inernet - Islam - Islamofascism - Media Bias - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Free Expression Quashed: YouTube Removes ‘Blasphemies’ Against Islam

March 3, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Islamofascists are mad at YouTube… or at least there were. They aren’t anymore, of course, because YouTube has folded to a cyberterror campaign launched in Islamabad, Pakistan. Islamists in Pakistan launched a cyber attack against YouTube over the video service’s hosting of the trailer to a Dutch documentary that claims that Islamic doctrine is an “inspiration for intolerance, murder and terror.”

So, in another strike against freedom of expression, YouTube has promised to eliminate any content that is deemed by extremist, Islamists half way across the world as “highly provocative and blasphemous” against Islam.

Once again, extremist, Islamists win another battle against the ever more weak spined and compliant west. And this win is ominous for the Internet because now the Islamofascists don’t even have to take control of a government or a population to impose their oppression on the people of the world. They can do it all across the world at once with cyberterror.

Continue reading “Free Expression Quashed: YouTube Removes ‘Blasphemies’ Against Islam”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

AP Beginning New Crack Down on Blog Critics?

February 29, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

AP Shuts Down Blogger With Threats of Legal Action

Well, here is what might be a landmark case for the blogosphere, for the Internet, and for the future of our new media, citizen journalism. The AP has just sent a cease and desist letter to Brian C. Ledbetter telling him to stop using their copyrighted images on his website, snappedshot.com.

Snappedshot.com is a site predicated on criticism of photo-journalism. In pursuit of his criticism, Mr. Ledbetter uses photos from across the web that he thinks are doctored or misleading in some way. He then reports his opinion on the bias he sees therein.

Because of this pending legal action, snappedshot.com is now been placed on hiatus until the situation can be cleared up.

So, here is the issue facing us, folks: can we use copyrighted material under the commonly observed fair usage rules without getting hauled into court? After all, Mr. Ledbetter was not making money from his website and he used those photos in order to critique them, not to enrich himself. That would seem to be the very definition of fair use, would it not?

Now it comes down to whether use of the AP’s photos in order to do social commentary and criticism is fair enough to be considered fair use?

Worse, if this tactic works, can it not be used by every mainstream news source out there to silence criticism of them?

I say we have the makings of an important ruling on whether we bloggers are free to criticize the MSM without being dragged in to court at the whim of any MSM bigwig.

We’ll try to follow this story and see where it goes.

Continue reading “AP Beginning New Crack Down on Blog Critics?”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Technology - UN - Warner Todd Huston

Google De-Lists Prominent UN Critic Blogger

February 19, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In another blow against freedom of speech on the Internet, Fox News is reporting that Google has taken the measure of de-listing the work of an anti-UN blogger named Matthew Lee. For several years, Lee has run the Inner City Press, a small news/opinion site that is focused on criticizing the United Nations. But since Google has teamed up with the UN on recent initiatives, Google has found that Lee’s criticism is too much for them to handle.

Mr. Lee has been taking after big targets for a long time, so he is no newcomer to the scene. In 1987 he went after Citigroup with his corruption exposes, but since 2005 the United Nations has been his favorite target. He has especially focused on the “inner workings of what could be called the practical-applications arm of the international organization, the United Nations Development Programme.”

As Fox News reports:

Many of Lee’s stories were featured prominently whenever Web users looked for news about the U.N. using the powerful Google News search engine, a vital way for media outlets both large and small to get their articles read… But beginning Feb. 13, Google News users could no longer find new stories from the Inner City Press.

After the Government Accountability Project discovered the plight of Inner City Press and raised their own stink about the de-listing, Google claimed that the de-listing was a mistake but that it would take “a couple weeks” to fix the “glitch.”

“We acknowledged our misunderstanding … but it takes time for the restoration to occur,” [Google spokesman Gabriel] Stricker said. “The glitch will be resolved as soon as possible. We’re working on it.”

The GAP, however is none too happy about Google’s “glitch.” GAP’s international-program director Bea Edwards told Fox that Inner City Press was “the most effective and important media organization for UN whistleblowers.”

“We’re alarmed. The question is, is what user sent the complaint? And it’s probably not too hard to guess. We would guess the complaints came from the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme).”

This isn’t something new for Internet organizations like Google, however. Google and other Internet organizations like Newsvine and Digg have been embroiled in efforts to eliminate the conservative voice from the Internet for quite some time.

For instance, Newsvine recently canceled the account of the conservative news/opinion site called The New Media Alliance. And, as Noel Sheppard reported back in May of 2006, the conservative opinion site called The New Media Journal was removed from search engines by Google because Google deemed the commentary site a “hate site.”

So, far from being the wild west of opinion, the Internet is seemingly more and more in the grip of leftist organizations that are out to eliminate conservative expression on the net. Add to this the liberals in Congress who want to reinstate the inaptly named “Fairness Doctrine,” and we get ominous signs of the left’s oppressive ideas of “freedom of speech.”

It’s just one more example that Jonah Goldberg is right. Liberals are closer to fascists than any conservative.

Continue reading “Google De-Lists Prominent UN Critic Blogger”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Technology

Bursting its own stock bubble: Why Google is its own worst enemy

February 12, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

Since the beginning of the year, Google’s stock has fallen over 25%–about 2-3 times the fall of the relevant indexes.

The good news for Google shareholders is that most all of Google’s stock price problems are self-inflicted, so they could fix them—if they wanted to.

The bad news for Google shareholders is that Google is unlikely to change its problematic bahavior—because “leopards don’t change their spots.”

Why is Google its own worst enemy?

First, Google routinely alienates its friends and allies.

The New York Times editorial board, which should be a natural ideological ally, busted Google badly in its editorial today: “Who’s the 800-Pound Gorilla?”

The NYT saw through Google’s anti-competitive complaints about Microsoft-Yahoo, labeling them as”self-serving,” “disingenuous,” and “so much empty whining.”

Google has badly alienated its shareholders (it’s most ardent believers) who wanted to believe that Google would reward them for their investment.

Despite Google’s torrid revenue growth (51%) for a company its size, investors are learning that Google already has spending plans for whatever revenue that comes in.
Continue reading “Bursting its own stock bubble: Why Google is its own worst enemy”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Google - Inernet - News - Scott Cleland - Technology

FTC paved way for approval of Microsoft-Yahoo in approving Google-DoubleClick 4-1

February 11, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

I can’t say I’m at all surprised to see Microsoft seek to acquire Yahoo.

It makes obvious business sense for both Microsoft and Yahoo — it is the only viable and strategic option for either company to become a serious and credible competitor to Google-DoubleClick’s rapidly increasing dominance of search and Internet advertising.

And given the FTC’s surprisingly strong consolidation-endorsing analysis of the Google-DoubleClick merger — previously-perceived as a yellow antitrust light to such a merger by Microsoft — there is now a bright blinking green light for approval.

Timing-wise, it’s obvious to Microsoft to get approval now while the getting is so good.

Moreover, Yahoo’s faltering stock begged Microsoft to “Come on down! and play ‘The Price is Right!'”

Essentially, the FTC paved the road for antitrust approval of a Microsoft-Yahoo combination with its recent 4-1 approval of Google-DoubleClick.

The FTC ruled definitively two months ago that the Internet advertising market has “vigorous” competition, which “will likely increase.”
Continue reading “FTC paved way for approval of Microsoft-Yahoo in approving Google-DoubleClick 4-1”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Technology

Google’s Regulatory Outlook 2008

January 29, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

The big question for investors is why?

Why has Google felt the need to build up a new lobbying operation in D.C. (rivaling Microsoft’s in size) so rapidly and why did Google just unveil, with great fanfare, its new cutting-edge office space in DC with a party that attracted 650 people and many VIPs?

What does Google know that investors may not?

Google’s Regulatory Outlook

Federal Trade Commission:

Antitrust:

  • In gaining the 4-1 FTC approval of the DoubleClick acquisition, Google earned a probationary warning from the FTC: “We want to be clear however, that we will closely watch these markets and, should Google engage in unlawful tying or other anti-competitive conduct, the Commission intends to act quickly.”
  • Both the Democratic Chair and Ranking Republican of the Senate Judiciary Committee overseeing the FTC now believe: “Antitrust regulators need to be wary to guard against the creation of a powerful Internet conglomerate able to extend its market power in one market to adjacent markets, to the detriment of competition and consumers.”
  • Many in Washington now fear Google may be becoming the next Microsoft.
  • The EU still must approve the Google-Doubleclick merger by spring. Google’s market concentration is much greater in Europe than in the US and the EU has much more legal latitude to block or condition a merger than the FTC does. The EU approval hurdle is more difficult than the FTC’s was.
  • Overall, this is not a good precondition for Google to enter 2008. It is especially not good, if there is a Democratic Administration in 2009, because Democrats generally believe that this Administration has been too lax on competition and antitrust matters.

Privacy:
Continue reading “Google’s Regulatory Outlook 2008”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Selwyn Duke - Society/Culture - Technology

The Race for the American Mind

January 18, 2008 by

By Selwyn Duke

Last year’s scamnesty bill had widespread support among the powers-that-be, with the president, the Democrat majority and mainstream media all singing its praises. Yet it went down to defeat, slain by a new-media coalition of talk radio and blogosphere warriors. Working tirelessly to expose the truth and rally the grassroots, they became a David who slew a Goliath.

Forty-three years ago it was a different world. Ted Kennedy had co-authored the “Immigration Reform Act of 1965,” which created a situation wherein 85 percent of our immigrants hail from the Third World and Asia. He took to the Senate floor, claimed his brainchild wouldn’t change the demographic composition of the nation and passed the culture-rending bill under the cover of darkness.

This darkness was not absence of light but that of truth; it was a media blackout. With no Internet and little talk radio, mainstream journalists had a monopoly over the hearts and minds of America. And they knew best. The little people didn’t have to worry their pretty little heads about actions that would forever alter the face of the nation.

This is why the old media fears the new one. The latter watches the watchers, polices the police. It has cut into the Rathersphere’s market, causing a diminution of circulation, viewership and – this is what really gets their collars up – power. They can no longer propagandize with Tass-like impunity, for the e-hills have eyes.
Continue reading “The Race for the American Mind”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Google - Inernet - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology - The Law

Net Neutrality Blocks Innovation

January 17, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

Why net neutrality would block cloud computing innovation; computers must prioritize/schedule apps

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that net neutrality proponents have not thought through the logical and practical implications of their call for mandating net neutrality.

Practically, net neutrality is about codifying Internet architecture design rules for the first time, which would have the real world effect of blocking, degrading, and impairing innovation towards allowing the Internet to support “cloud computing” — the future of computing according to Google, IBM and many others.

Why does net neutrality theory not work in practice?

First, net neutrality is really backward-looking, trying to take the Internet back to the dial-up/pre-broadband days when there was monopoly telecom regulation and not inter-modal broadband competition like there is today.

Second, consider net neutrality’s definition by its primary proponents:
Continue reading “Net Neutrality Blocks Innovation”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Technology - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

More Lazy Reporting From UPI: Internet ‘Not Ideal’ For Political Ads

December 31, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

As we point out on a daily basis, the MSM is heavily left leaning and biased. But this isn’t the MSM’s only failing. They are also extremely lazy. Leftist or not, and take little time to really think about the news nor do any research about what they are reporting. Take this UPI report for instance: “Political videos not reaching Web viewers.” In this one, the UPI is claiming that political video on the web isn’t “reaching Web viewers” and that it isn’t the “ideal way” for candidates to reach voters, but the story itself does not satisfactorily prove such a conclusion at all. When compared to the percentage of actual voting adults, for instance, the penetration might be quite favorable toward political videos reaching those they are aimed at. So, why report it as a negative? Because they neither employed reason nor research while writing their article, that’s why.

UPI claims the following:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) — Just over one-third of U.S. adults who have watched online video report watching a political video, a Harris Poll found.

The survey suggests online video is not an ideal way for political candidates to reach voters. However, that 35 percent figure represents millions of people.

While “one-third” of America’s adult population seems low, when we take a more full view of the statistics, we see that it isn’t as bad as it seems but we also see that this poll isn’t much help in making any determination as to whether or not political ads on the Internet are effective.

For one thing, only 73% of our adult population has internet connection in the first place according to a Pew Research finding (Download PDF file here). Now, according to the U.S. Census Bureau there are about 220 million adults in the U.S. so that means that of that 220 million, about 165 million some Americans have internet connection. One third of that 165 million, then, means that around 55 million or so adults are watching video with political content on the Internet.

55 million is a whole bunch o’folks, sure, but what does that mean to actual votes cast and are Internet videos actually making a difference in politics? There certainly is no way to know that from this report.

Let’s take a quick look at the voting stats.

Continue reading “More Lazy Reporting From UPI: Internet ‘Not Ideal’ For Political Ads”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Google - Inernet - News - Scott Cleland - Technology - Uncategorized

Busted again! Google ranked worst!

December 13, 2007 by

-By Scott Cleland

Google ranked worst in “One World Trust” survey on openness and transparency

The Financial Times reported that One World Trust is publishing the results of a new world survey that ranks Google worst in the world on openness and transparency.

This worst in the world ranking comes on the heels of a recent Privacy International survey that also found that Google was worst in the world on privacy. Now two independent and respected non-governmental groups have independently found that Google is worst in the world on the values that it claims are very important to the company: openness and privacy.

One World Trust “conducts research on practical ways to make global organisations more responsive to the people they affect, and on how the rule of law can be applied equally to all. It educates political leaders and opinion-formers about the findings of its research.”

  • Out of a possible score of 100 Google got a 17. Ouch. Even the math whizes at Google can see that is not a good score.
  • And since the top performer, UNDP, got an 88, there is no grading curve that will save Google’s bacon on this one.

It is good to get additional third party confirmation of many of the themes I have been blogging about for over a year and a half related to Google. A central theme I have harped on is Google’s hypocrisy and double standard: where it has one standard of behavior it expects of others and another for itself.

The most galling has been its push for “open” access and net neutrality for its broadband competitors but not for Google — even though Google has more market share in its market than the competitive broadband industry has.
Continue reading “Busted again! Google ranked worst!”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Entertainment - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Technology - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

NBC Ad Sales Refunds – More Dinosaur Media Woes

December 11, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The world of entertainment is in a world of hurt. With the massive diversification of entertainment offerings these days, older forms of media — like movies, TV and newspapers — are finding a dwindling number of customers as NBC is finding out this month. NBC has found itself in the lamentable position of giving their advertisers refunds because of poor performance in its ratings. The promised number of eyes that NBC promised that advertisers would reach didn’t materialize, so NBC has to refund their advertisers for the over estimate of viewers that might see the ads placed on their airwaves. Of course, NBC is trying to keep a lid on this damaging story, but the Genie is out of that bottle. We can surely say that the network’s News arms ain’t helpin’ sales a whole lot, in any case!

Adweek gives us the story:

NBC has quietly begun reimbursing advertisers for fourth-quarter prime-time ratings shortfalls, averaging about $500,000 per advertiser, according to media buyers, marking the first time in years a network has taken such a step to compensate marketers for ratings deficiencies.

It was also reported in Adweek that new network CW has had a loss of ratings and an over estimate of ad revenue, as well. So has CBS, ABC, and Fox, all of whom are giving advertisers “make goods” wherein the networks give ad time in compensation for having overcharged the advertisers.

And what is the culprit?

Continue reading “NBC Ad Sales Refunds – More Dinosaur Media Woes”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology - Uncategorized

Google’s wireless folly? or hubris?

November 26, 2007 by

-By Scott Cleland

The WSJ article, “Google has even bigger plans for mobile phones,” appropriately addresses the big “open” question of whether Google is serious about becoming a wireless carrier, because if it is, it will need to bid and win substantial spectrum in the upcoming FCC 700 MHz spectrum auction.

The WSJ article states: “the behind-the-scenes moves illustrate just how serious the Internet giant is about trying to reshape the wireless world.” The evidence in favor of Google’s serious entry into wireless is significant, as Google:

  • Successfully extracted unprecedented FCC auction rules that would favor Google’s advertising business model over the existing wireless subscription model, and that would likely depress the business utility of the spectrum so Google could acquire it at below market value;
  • (Google understands it broke a lot of china at the FCC and in Washington this summer in order to win the “Google spectrum concessions.” Hopefully, Google also understands it would be more than bad form to slap the hand that tries to feed you, by not bidding on the band specially tailored for Google’s model.)
  • Has repeatedly pledged it would bid almost $5B in the auction;
  • Acquired a test wireless license, built towers and is operating a wireless service at its headquarters using “googley” phones;
  • Has hired game theorists to game out its strategy;
  • “Discovered Wall Street was enthusiastic about the company’s ability to raise any needed cash;”
  • (Truly amazing that Wall Street bankers would in fact loan a company money that already has ~$10B in cash in the bank and the number one brand in the world. Good for Google for clearing up that big uncertainty…) and
  • Had discussions with a variety of potential partners like Clearwire, but is reportedly likely to go it alone to maximize its bidding flexibility.

Let me add another reason that the Googlers may bid: EGO. Googlers believe they are the smartest of the smart, and they must be drawn to the challenge and complexity of this “high-level chess game” in auction game theory. What better forum to showcase their intellectual, algorithmic, and business acumen superiority?
Continue reading “Google’s wireless folly? or hubris?”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Google - Inernet - Media Bias - News - Scott Cleland - Technology - Uncategorized

A Bogus Attack on Cable Giant, Comcast

November 9, 2007 by

-By Scott Cleland

Bogus petition against Comcast’s reasonable network management is a back door ploy to reinstate common carriage for broadband

The Moveon.org/FreePress petition to the FCC to declare Comcast’s reasonable network management illegal is a deceptive back-door scheme to reverse FCC deregulation of broadband as an information service and to (de facto) reinstate common carriage for broadband.

The petition will be found to be a bogus and manufactured scheme to deceive the FCC and the public that necessary, responsible, and “reasonable network management” — that serves consumers and the Internet public by delivering quality of service and protecting consumers from the harm of viruses, spam etc. — should be declared illegal “degrading” of an Internet application.

Upon full FCC airing of this issue, it will be clear that the offending P2P application traffic is the culprit that is in fact harming the overwhelming majority of Internet consumers by “degrading and impairing” the responsiveness and utility of the Internet for the many because of the irresponsible bandwidth hogging of the few.

First, if managing out-of-control p2p traffic that is degrading and impairing the responsiveness and utility of the Internet for the many by the few is not “reasonable network management,” then no network management is reasonable.

The petitioners have made a grave error in choosing to put all their “eggs in one basket,” defending spiraling p2p traffic, because there is probably no more widespread “rotten” Internet application than most p2p traffic.
Continue reading “A Bogus Attack on Cable Giant, Comcast”