AUGUST 2015
TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA
The old is departing. Make way for the new.
As Rupert (Murdoch) said (in word to the effect...), "The internet is
the
greatest destroyer of wealth in recent times".
First it was Bookshops. Retail. Now it is Taxis, Newspapers, TV,
Movie Theatres, Pharmaceuticals. All of those "protected by regulation"
industries are fighting a losing battle. The regulators can be
relied upon to protect their client/employers. But the war is
lost.
And those industries are fighting back. And the most effective
fighter is media,
where the strategy seems to be "Keep the pollies off balance".
Because politicians who are popular are not so desperate for favourable
press
reviews. They
can
legislate
without
fear
for
the good of the
people. Think
Menzies
and
Howard.
It
took
a sustained media attack combined
with a union SuperPac spend of more million$ than the combined spend of
both party machines to unseat Howard's brilliant "Work Choices"
legislation.
OTOH a pollie who needs media bytes is easily manipulated
to enact favourable (say) copyright or patent legislation.
(Shades of the TPP!)
We can see this happening in the US where Trump is under siege.
That kerfuffle is not about him being sexist (I do not believe that he
was talking about period blood. He had just been interviewed by a
female (Kelly) who had ripped into him from a prepared ambush.
His comment was "Blood in her eyes or whatever" which immediately got
interpreted by unfriendly media as a reference to a woman's period.
Against all media attacks and expectation, Trump now prevails. In
fact, Fox
has done an about face and now backs Trump against Kelly. Because
they started losing audience when Trump refused to be interviewed for
Fox.
And I think the media is losing the battle. This is
(paradoxically) signalled by the weakening of the party political
system. That signals the disillusionment of voters with our
political system, as indicated by the growing movement to the election
of independents. (see the Australian Senate, and local
government. The attempt to merge councils is an attempt by the
big parties to recapture local government.). Because, obviously,
big parties are more easily manipulated by media.
One thing our media barons fear is the news "aggregators"
like Drudge & Google. I am already giving up on the ABC news
(early morning with the frumpy one), the Drum, "101" with the smarmy
one and Q&A. And last time I looked, all the newspapers were
losing circulation. As I move to those aggregators I begin to
realize that the local (Australian) media was being corrupted by
consistent bias away from
those matters that are not beneficial to our "elite". As an
example, we are prevented from making democratic decisions (e.g. like a
public plebiscite on redefining marriage).
With computer technology where it is, it would be a simple and
inexpensive matter for the government to establish online plebiscites
on new
legislation and regulations. And do not raise the issue of
security. Our
banking system is secure. I am sure the same technology could
ensure the security of your vote,
But that is not going to happen in a hurry. But then, there is "ivote".
So maybe there is hope.
ASSANGE
Sweden has a statute
of limitations on various crimes. Apparently the limit has been
reached for the less serious crimes of which Julian was charged..
Only one charge (rape) still stands. It is my understanding that
the original complainants have withdrawn their complaints. The
original prosecutor did not see fit to pursue the matter.
Apparently a young, ambitious? female initiated the charges some time
later.
Julian is in a
difficult position. In his position, I would not trust the US not
to extradite me
from Sweden. Various persons in the US administration still averr
that he is a criminal who has damaged vital US security. No
mention damage to their compromised democracy.
The whole matter
does not
reflect well on Sweden, who have in a very obvious way bowed to US
pressure by restarting the matter after originally dismissing it.
And their refusal to interview Assange in the UK. So much for the
honour and independence and sense of justice of the Swedish socialist
government.
TAO
From the "Tao Te
Ching" at Pien 36
What is to be shrunk must first be
stretched,
What is to be weakened must first be made strong,
What is to be overthrown must begin by being set up.
He who would be a taker must begin as a giver.
The crashed price of
oil and the "sustainable" movement have combined to cause social and
financial distress in those big oil producers who had most benefited
from high oil prices.
icu.
DYSON HEYDON
If I were invited to
speak on any matter to my peers where I had cause to believe that my
opinion was respected, I would consider it an honour. If the
invitation was given in the name of a respected authority, say Nobel or
Rhodes or Churchill or Menzies, I would consider the honour
greater. Garfield Barwick was a renowned High Court justice.
Justice Heydon could
as easily have accepted an offer to talk at a Labour Party
function on judicial matters. Such an invitation is an honour to
the person giving the
talk to his peers. Acceptance is not evidence of or proof of
bias. If anything, it is evidence of susceptibility to flattery.
TECHNOLOGY & PRIVACY.
In the past few
weeks the clients of the AshleyMaddison.com website have had private
information disclosed online. The website was for married persons
to meet "discreetly".
Shock and horror!
The internet has
brought a lot of new things into our culture, and unless you plan to
live in such a remote area that there are no phones or satellite
communications, you might as well suck it and live with it.
Privacy is dead, the right to privacy is as dead as copyright, mass
media, global warming and national borders. You just do not
realize it yet.
Let us look ten
years into the future. Consider the following advances.
- Person
recognition software will be freely available. Person recognition
is evolved facial recognition software. It can identify any
person from a few seconds of camera or microphone recording.
- Camera and Microphone
recordings of everyone will be made frequently every day. (Think
NSA & phone, metadata & voice recordings. Think traffic
cameras, shop cameras, debit card & ATM cameras. Think GPS on
mobile phones.)
- No amount of privacy laws
will keep those recordings secret. Think Assange, Snowden,
Anonymous and other hackers. Some of those will release hacked
data into the public domain.
- Mass media is losing the
fight for eyes and ears to social data.
- Advances in battery and
photoelectric technology will destroy the energy industry.
- Advances in mobile phone
technology will destroy the phone companies. Eventually phones
will network, and towers will not be needed.
- Already the location of
your mobile phone is known within inches. And do you think that
potentially valuable information has been discarded?
So basically, privacy is dead. Combining the above it can be
deduced that for free or fee, locations and social interactions of
anyone in an advanced
country since around 2,000 AD will become available. And probably
also
in not so advanced countries.
- If you are married, confess. Otherwise a simple
App (probably $5 at the play store) will tell your partner of your
infidelity. All of those affairs since around year 2,000AD will
be exposed.
- If you are a crook or have taken bribes for
questionable behaviour, try to rectify the matter and make
amends. All those people in public office who have accepted
bribes or committed larceny will be exposed. (Hopefully have
their ill gotten wealth found and confiscated.)
- Violent criminals will be found and rendered
harmless. Paedophiles and similar darknet criminals will be found
and rendered harmless.
- Concepts that
were previously ignored by mass media will become better known via the
social networks. The current political
trend of major political parties is to "centralism" where
political power to regulate is concentrated in fewer hands.
However mankind should
beware! The possibility
exists that software could be evolved to censor ideas on the internet
& social media.
Do not rely on encryption. Most of it is already corrupted, and
easily readable by spy agencies.
REFUGEE.
The count of
refugees worldwide is in the millions p/a. In the wealthy countries the (mostly wealthy) bleeding hearts
want to take them in and give them shelter, food and the other benefits
of the social security system. (No doubt putting downwards
pressure on the cost of home help). In Australia unemployment
benefits amount to
around $500 per fortnight per adult. Children get another couple
hundred. Add in subsidized rent, free health, free education etc.
and the cost of each new citizen can amount to around a hundred
thousand dollars per annum.
The working stiffs
who pay taxes to support these untrained immigrants are not quite so
generous, and encourage Australian PM
Abbott to discourage refugees, or at least only give them TPVs
(Temporary Protection Visas) which would expire if conditions in their
homeland improved. Much the same seems to be happening in EU and
USA.
It is fast getting
to the point where an alternative must be found.
One possible
solution might be to establish "safe zones" under UN Auspices.
Perhaps in a third country, for instance Jordan probably has a few
square miles of desert that it could lease/contribute.
Alternatively, perhaps some of the land from which the refugees came
could be sequestered. For instance, set up
a mini state inside/alongside Syria. Allow refugees in.
Test them in various ways to confirm their identity. Provide food
and tents. Register citizens.
Allow the development of city
entities like Hong Kong, Simgapore, Melilla or Historic Venice or
Vatican.
Use electronic
plebiscites to establish a degree of refugee citizen control. Allow purchase of
leasehold land and permit buildings & industry
& farming
& commerce. Collect rent to contribute for the cost of
providing food and security.
Eventually a proto
state might exist. Perhaps it will rejoin the original
Syria. Other options exist
barvennon@hotmail.com