New documentary exposes media consolidation and government collusion(savetheinternet.com)
savetheinternet.com
New documentary exposes media consolidation and government collusion
http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/11/06/14/killswitch-and-battle-over-internet
7 comments
"The origination of the Internet itself, the book explains, is a direct result of the splitting of AT&T in 1984, which allowed, for example the standard modem jack to exist (jacks and equipment were proprietary before that)"
The earliest modems didn't use phone jacks at all:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Acoustic_coup...
The earliest modems didn't use phone jacks at all:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Acoustic_coup...
Good insights Vic-nyc.
Tim Wu's book is excellent and was one of the many books that have influenced me in the writing of this doc. He's on our list of future interviewees.
His explanation of the "Separations Principle" is essential reading for any one that wants to protect the integrity of the Internet as we know it.
Have you read Evgeny Morozov's book, "The Net Delusion"...? Interesting book -- He looks at the future of the Internet and of democratic government from an interesting perspective. His central premise is that totalitarian governments in the 21st century will look increasingly more like Huxley's, "Brave New World" than Orwell's "1984"...
We plan on interviewing him as well...
Tim Wu's book is excellent and was one of the many books that have influenced me in the writing of this doc. He's on our list of future interviewees.
His explanation of the "Separations Principle" is essential reading for any one that wants to protect the integrity of the Internet as we know it.
Have you read Evgeny Morozov's book, "The Net Delusion"...? Interesting book -- He looks at the future of the Internet and of democratic government from an interesting perspective. His central premise is that totalitarian governments in the 21st century will look increasingly more like Huxley's, "Brave New World" than Orwell's "1984"...
We plan on interviewing him as well...
Interesting how on one hand people are claiming that the government is colluding to create internet censorship, and on the other hand the government is sponsoring a device to help circumvent internet censorship:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651245
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2652169
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656074
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656816
Left hand? Right hand? What will the government do when people create their own mesh internet?
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2651245
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2652169
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656074
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2656816
Left hand? Right hand? What will the government do when people create their own mesh internet?
Very interesting, Colin.
Our central premise in #killswitch - the documentary, is that decentralization of knowledge is essential for democracy.
The Printing Press gave society this during the enlightenment period, halting centuries of oppression in the Western World. And the Internet is doing this today by revitalizing democracies in the Western world and helping ignite revolution in the Middle East.
We advocate a Constitutional framework that protects the integrity of the Internet. i.e. a separations principle, whereby content providers should not be ISP's and vice versa. (Detailed account of this in Tim Wu's, "Master Switch").
We are averse to any "Big Brother" Regulation by the Government or "Brave New World" Corporate take-over of the Internet.
The only way to combat oppression is to have accountable governance is to have decentralization of info/knowledge.
One of a demcocracy's central purposes is to protect this decentralized and accountable framework (by protecting the decentralized integrity of the Internet).
One way the gov. can do this by enforcing the 1st Amendment, i.e. Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech. But the gov. won't do this with out an aware and educated citizenry. Which is why we're making the documentary.
Check out our trailer on kickstarter when you get a chance: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum...
Our central premise in #killswitch - the documentary, is that decentralization of knowledge is essential for democracy.
The Printing Press gave society this during the enlightenment period, halting centuries of oppression in the Western World. And the Internet is doing this today by revitalizing democracies in the Western world and helping ignite revolution in the Middle East.
We advocate a Constitutional framework that protects the integrity of the Internet. i.e. a separations principle, whereby content providers should not be ISP's and vice versa. (Detailed account of this in Tim Wu's, "Master Switch").
We are averse to any "Big Brother" Regulation by the Government or "Brave New World" Corporate take-over of the Internet.
The only way to combat oppression is to have accountable governance is to have decentralization of info/knowledge.
One of a demcocracy's central purposes is to protect this decentralized and accountable framework (by protecting the decentralized integrity of the Internet).
One way the gov. can do this by enforcing the 1st Amendment, i.e. Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech. But the gov. won't do this with out an aware and educated citizenry. Which is why we're making the documentary.
Check out our trailer on kickstarter when you get a chance: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum...
(for a detailed account of how our founding father's expressed the difference between Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech, check out Robert McChesney's "The Death and Life of American Journalism")Whilst not directly related to #killswitch, if you'd like to see some great documentaries related to the balance of power between business, government and the public then I can highly recommend checking out the work of documentarian Adam Curtis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Curtis
This is actually a request for donations to create a documentary...
but there is a trailer.
but there is a trailer.
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For folks more in-the-know than me on govt/corp history, does the power struggle between the people and controlling entities (wether it be the govt or the corps as we are seeing more recently) ebb and flow? Is this an ebb in out history where we see the balance of power pouring to the corp side of the scale or is this an unprecedented moment in history where we see control in health care, research, internet, communications, news, newspaper/magazine, popular culture (TV shows, Disney-created properties, modern fads, etc.), food, etc. all primarily dictated by corporations?
I'll do my part to pledge money for this movie because I think it is important to shine as much light as possible into dark corners... the lack of light allows nasty things to grow it seems, but I also (unfortunately) have no expectations that any change will come out of this as a result.
It seems like we have more information about corruptions and injustices now than we ever have in the history of the world; whether it is too overwhelming or "just not bad enough to care", the result of things mostly staying the same and going down the same path seem to continue.
Either things aren't as bad/terrible/horrifying as movies like Lose Change and Zeitgeist make them out to be or we (humans) are extremely difficult to mobilize as a group.
I really don't know how to think about gross imbalances of power. You see it so much it doesn't surprise you any more, but you still hate it, but I'm also very busy so I'm not running out with signs to stand on corners trying to get people to change their minds.
Anyone have more valuable thoughts on this to help put this in perspective? I'd appreciate it.
I'll do my part to pledge money for this movie because I think it is important to shine as much light as possible into dark corners... the lack of light allows nasty things to grow it seems, but I also (unfortunately) have no expectations that any change will come out of this as a result.
It seems like we have more information about corruptions and injustices now than we ever have in the history of the world; whether it is too overwhelming or "just not bad enough to care", the result of things mostly staying the same and going down the same path seem to continue.
Either things aren't as bad/terrible/horrifying as movies like Lose Change and Zeitgeist make them out to be or we (humans) are extremely difficult to mobilize as a group.
I really don't know how to think about gross imbalances of power. You see it so much it doesn't surprise you any more, but you still hate it, but I'm also very busy so I'm not running out with signs to stand on corners trying to get people to change their minds.
Anyone have more valuable thoughts on this to help put this in perspective? I'd appreciate it.
Since about the mid 1970s deregulation has been consistent. This empowers corporations to sort of do whatever they want so long as the free market justifies their behaviour. The point of view that regulation is a bad thing, and de-regulation is a good thing, has become increasingly popular, even being taught in schools.
In a publicly traded company it's practically illegal not to seek out any unfair or immoral advantage that may increase your share value. Being moral is not often in the best interest of your investors, at least not in the short term.
If you accept this as truth, then it kind of makes sense that large corporations lobby various governments to pass bills that directly or indirectly increase their share value regardless of the consequences. This is so profitable that over time this leads to massive deregulation and government corruption as companies try anything and everything to influence government leaders (or put their own people in these influencial positions). It's pretty blatent and not uncommon for a regulator later taking a job with a large corporation they were in charge of overseeing. In some fields it's an accepted and commonly known career path.
So I wouldn't say it's us against them or anything crazy. It just so happens that the interests of most corporations do not align with society in general's long term interests.
The problem with regulation is that it's subject to corruption than can produce fairly large consequences for society. It usually takes a while before a government body has been properly infiltrated (say 15 years or so?).
The problem with deregulation is it assumes corporation interests are often aligned with societies interests. That's simply not true the majority of the time.
In a publicly traded company it's practically illegal not to seek out any unfair or immoral advantage that may increase your share value. Being moral is not often in the best interest of your investors, at least not in the short term.
If you accept this as truth, then it kind of makes sense that large corporations lobby various governments to pass bills that directly or indirectly increase their share value regardless of the consequences. This is so profitable that over time this leads to massive deregulation and government corruption as companies try anything and everything to influence government leaders (or put their own people in these influencial positions). It's pretty blatent and not uncommon for a regulator later taking a job with a large corporation they were in charge of overseeing. In some fields it's an accepted and commonly known career path.
So I wouldn't say it's us against them or anything crazy. It just so happens that the interests of most corporations do not align with society in general's long term interests.
The problem with regulation is that it's subject to corruption than can produce fairly large consequences for society. It usually takes a while before a government body has been properly infiltrated (say 15 years or so?).
The problem with deregulation is it assumes corporation interests are often aligned with societies interests. That's simply not true the majority of the time.
Hi rkalla:
Thanks very much for your contribution to the production of #killswitch the documentary.
You're right, there is a lot corruption and sometimes it's difficult to make sense of it all.
In my opinion the most alarming part of all is the unprecedented corruption and concentration of the traditional media.
You can really get a sense of how corrupt and concentrated the media industry is when you check out these ownership charts on FreePress.com... You'd be amazed at how many television stations, Film Production Studios, Magazines, Online, holdings, etc. a company like General Electric or Walt Disney owns.
Here's the charts: http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main
Once you realize how much control over knowledge and information these six companies have and how few people in the US get their news outside of these six sources you realize we've got a major problem for a functioning democracy.
Now that these companies are threatening the integrity of the Internet (NBC-Comcast Merger)... Wait to see which major media conglomerate will be the next to merge with a major ISP... it's quite possible that in the not so distant future the Internet will look like super-charged cable T.V.
Thanks very much for your contribution to the production of #killswitch the documentary.
You're right, there is a lot corruption and sometimes it's difficult to make sense of it all.
In my opinion the most alarming part of all is the unprecedented corruption and concentration of the traditional media.
You can really get a sense of how corrupt and concentrated the media industry is when you check out these ownership charts on FreePress.com... You'd be amazed at how many television stations, Film Production Studios, Magazines, Online, holdings, etc. a company like General Electric or Walt Disney owns.
Here's the charts: http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main
Once you realize how much control over knowledge and information these six companies have and how few people in the US get their news outside of these six sources you realize we've got a major problem for a functioning democracy.
Now that these companies are threatening the integrity of the Internet (NBC-Comcast Merger)... Wait to see which major media conglomerate will be the next to merge with a major ISP... it's quite possible that in the not so distant future the Internet will look like super-charged cable T.V.
A couple of books on the topic: "The Master Switch" by Tim Wu, and "The Creation of the Media", by Paul Starr.
"The Master Switch" goes through the history of radio, where an initial period of experimentation was stifled by regulation, with big business (the large networks) being the major beneficiary; the two weren't necessarily opposed.
On the other hand, the former will show you that eliminating regulation doesn't necessarily eliminate the problem. In the absence of effective regulation in the 19th century, Western Union seized an effective monopoly on telegraphy. Having done that, they then made a deal for cut rates with the Associated Press whereby AP-affiliated newspapers (effectively, any paper that wanted to cover national stories) were forbidden to editorialize against the monopoly.
"The Master Switch" goes through the history of radio, where an initial period of experimentation was stifled by regulation, with big business (the large networks) being the major beneficiary; the two weren't necessarily opposed.
On the other hand, the former will show you that eliminating regulation doesn't necessarily eliminate the problem. In the absence of effective regulation in the 19th century, Western Union seized an effective monopoly on telegraphy. Having done that, they then made a deal for cut rates with the Associated Press whereby AP-affiliated newspapers (effectively, any paper that wanted to cover national stories) were forbidden to editorialize against the monopoly.
Hi rst:
You're right, "Master Switch" is a great book. It has influenced me in the writing of #killswitch.
Link to #killswitch project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum...
I have not read "The Creation of the Media", by Paul Starr. What can you tell me about that book?
You're right, "Master Switch" is a great book. It has influenced me in the writing of #killswitch.
Link to #killswitch project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum...
I have not read "The Creation of the Media", by Paul Starr. What can you tell me about that book?
In some sense they have less power today than they ever had - imagine the outcry if some senator raped a commoner today. Compare that with what would have happened if a lord raped a peasant 800 years ago. It is likely that the peasant would have been killed for insulting the lord.
On the other hand, modern technology has done much to erode privacy for the common people and since information is power, some of the lost power has been returned to the rulers.
What is really exciting is the future - I am not at all convinced that the current nation states can survive in their present form when they loose the ability to tax their most productive citizens (since more and more work can be done overseas) as much as they have done and when something like bitcoin can and will be used to do transactions between people.
On the other hand, modern technology has done much to erode privacy for the common people and since information is power, some of the lost power has been returned to the rulers.
What is really exciting is the future - I am not at all convinced that the current nation states can survive in their present form when they loose the ability to tax their most productive citizens (since more and more work can be done overseas) as much as they have done and when something like bitcoin can and will be used to do transactions between people.
For those that want to know more about the film... check out our kickstarter page:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum...
(Our 5 minute trailer is posted there - and you can contribute to production if you would like to - we've raised over $14,000 in two weeks thanks friends passing this along)
You can read our treatment on our official website: www.killswitchthefilm.com
And if you want to see the film projects we've worked on in the past go here: www.akorn.tv
Thanks everyone for taking interest. We have no advertising budget, so any interest we generate is word of mouth.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akorn/killswitch-a-docum...
(Our 5 minute trailer is posted there - and you can contribute to production if you would like to - we've raised over $14,000 in two weeks thanks friends passing this along)
You can read our treatment on our official website: www.killswitchthefilm.com
And if you want to see the film projects we've worked on in the past go here: www.akorn.tv
Thanks everyone for taking interest. We have no advertising budget, so any interest we generate is word of mouth.
I would also recommend Tim Wu's book "The Master Switch" that discusses media monopolies in the U.S. in historical perspective, from the telegraph and early telephone on to movie studios and on to the Internet nowadays. As the book explains, the Internet itself in its current open form is a historical aberration, similar to the multitude of choice in the early days of radio which was short-lived, to be soon replaced by monopolies under the government's helping hand. In fact, many technological inventions would not even have been possible when they happened (and some were delayed by decades) because of large monopolies. The origination of the Internet itself, the book explains, is a direct result of the splitting of AT&T in 1984, which allowed, for example the standard modem jack to exist (jacks and equipment were proprietary before that), and which disallowed AT&T from getting in the Internet business as an ISP. It seems that these lessons have begun to be, once again, forgotten by our modern generation. The solution to all this would be that the government properly fulfills its role of ensuring free market access and prevention of monopolies. It would also entail what's termed a "separations principle", the creation of distance between each of the major layers in the information economy.