Search Engine: Is net neutrality getting pwned? And spying on North Korea online.

coaltions aren

posted by hughstimson on 16 June 2009 at 1:25 AM

coalitions aren't just about spamming email lists

Hi Jesse, fun show. I enjoyed your comments about idea bundling, but I don't think that political coalitions are just tactical conveniences that were deprecated when we coded up some distributed tools. Strategic synergies can also happen when different causes recognize shared ends, regardless of the tactical means. I wouldn't be surprised if there is an increasing focus on digital liberties from people who support individual meat rights, who like to defend minority activities from majority indifference, and who aren't partial to arguments of letting the free market solve it's own problems.

You said that net neutrality is a no-brainer, but I suspect you've run into plently of folks who think it's a brainer. It would be nice to think that this is a natural cause for mainstream preoccupation, but it might take some work to get it there. Don't be too surprised if the ones who care first are on the left. I'm sympathetic to a desire for a new policy-based politics unencumbered by dogma and ideology, but be careful not to dismiss the momentum and force that solidarity with like-minded people can provide outright. Politics is still a group activity, and the groups aren't totally random.

posted by hughstimson on 16 June 2009 at 1:27 AM

pwnd

As you well know Jesse; if it can be gamed it will be gamed.

posted by JazzmanJ on 16 June 2009 at 11:29 AM

Iran??

Good show as always Jesse, but, c'mon, you're dropping the ball here. Surely the unfolding events in Iran are worth more than a hurried mention at the end of your podcast and a passing of the buck to your fellow TVOers?

I mean, you've got

- Twitter being used as a critical link among protesters and especially to the outside world, and now possibly even government disinfo Tweeters(!)

- /b/ organizing successful DDoS attacks against Iranian government websites

- The mainstream media openly relying on online citizen journalism, now that most foreign reporters are either being kicked out or confined to their offices

- and all of this possibly leading to regime change in one of the most important countries in the world

I mean, this seems like it could be pretty big. And considering you've had both an expert on the Iranian blogosphere AND a "spokesman" for Anonymous on the show in the past, I was looking forward to hearing Search Engine's take on all this. But I guess not.

posted by Mark S. on 16 June 2009 at 6:13 PM

Good job

Good job defending that scientist on The Point the other day. It all makes sense to me now. I'm less intelligent than whites because my parents did not talk to me or keep reading material around the house. I'm telling all my black friends it true because a scientist on a radio show says so. It is refreshing to hear good old race mongers on public radio not being challenged but being defended for their racially biased stats. Well done. I really hope some kids were listening.

posted by droptest on 20 June 2009 at 11:28 AM

Iran and the scientist

@ Mark S. Search Engine is a weekly show. Bi-weekly in the summer. So I can't do breaking news and don't try to. Iran was breaking when the last ep. went up, thus only a quick nod. This Tuesday's show will include some Iran stories that haven't gotten much play elsewhere- hope you'll check it out!

@droptest, don't think I defended him at all. Not sure what I would have been defending anyhow- IMO he spoke poorly and it was fuzzy to me whether he was expressing opinions or stats and if the latter, whether the stats themselves were biased or relevant... So I said we should give him the benefit of the doubt (that he's not a raving racist) at least until we can get a clear idea of what the heck he's talking about.

posted by Jesse Brown on 25 June 2009 at 5:03 PM

Google Maps and spying

The idea of using Google Maps to spy on North Korea is nothing new, and was to be expected when the Internet became available to the masses back in the mid 1990s. When we (the US government) launched satellites with cameras pointing at our planet, it was to spy on what was then the Soviet Union for missile activity. This was during the Cold War (1948 - 1988). With that cause now gone, we needed a new use for these satellites. Today, these satellites are now used to track weather patterns, predict hurricanes, tornadoes, and other extreme weather events. They are also used for the 3G networks and other communication networks to transmit and receive data with minimal interference.

This is the kind of thing that cannot be controlled by any dictatorship as the Iranian leader has recently found out.

posted by phorneker on 11 July 2009 at 3:33 PM