Our blogs about
America's Wars
War on Iraq
War on Drugs
War on Afghanistan
War on Columbia
War on Philippines
War on Venezuela

More
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
US News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Matrix Masters'
SUPPORTERS

Lorenzo's
Random Musings
. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Nike's Claim of a Right to Lie Goes to Trial
Nike's Challenge of California Law Dismissed by Supreme Court on Technical Grounds. Kasky lawsuit will go to trial. The one-sentence ruling said, "The writ of certiorari is dismissed as improvidently granted," meaning the Court erred by granting Nike's appeal prematurely. Apparently the Court still could review the case if Nike is convicted. . . . We view this case as a key opportunity to re-examine the judicial creation of constitutional rights for corporations and to raise awareness of the far-reaching negative effects that precedent has for democracy and our lives. We believe corporations have no protected "free speech" because they have no legitimate claim to a political voice. . . . We reject the claim that the authors of our Bill of Rights is intended to include corporations in defining persons.

posted by Lorenzo 10:52 AM

 

US Government Attempts To Keep Its Domain Names Secret
(The Memory Hole)
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the General Services Administration has refused to release the list of names in the dot-gov domain (eg, whitehouse.gov, fbi.gov, etc.). They claim that such information is "Sensitive but Unclassified," but they are not giving a specific reason for this determination, much less citing a FOIA exemption, as required under federal law. . . . But a fairly recent (12 Sept 2002) list of government domain names and servers is already available, thanks to the University of Toronto Network Development and Implementation Website.

[Comment: The link above will take you to that list and to another older, but longer, list of .GOV domain names.]

posted by Lorenzo 1:59 PM

 

Republicans Eliminate the Free Press in the U.S.
(Chris Tryhorn, The Guardian, June 2, 2003)
US regulators have waved through changes to media ownership rules that will allow media giants such as Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation to extend their ontrol over TV and print media. . . . The three commissioners who voted in favour of the changes were Republicans; the two Democrats on the panel voted against, arguing the relaxation of ownership would reduce diversity in the local media. . . . The FCC also voted to lift a ban on companies owning both a newspaper and a television or radio station except in the smallest markets. . . . Another controversial measure will allow broadcasters to own three stations in the largest US regional media markets - which are usually defined around large cities - instead of two. . . . Jeff Chester, the executive director of Washington-based lobby group the Center for Digital Democracy, said the FCC had "weakened the very fabric of our democracy". . . . "Fewer owners of the mass media means fewer voices will be heard, fewer opportunities for discourse and debate will be available and, ultimately, there will be fewer options for those who seek alternative and minority viewpoints," he said. . . . "A handful of companies will gain from today's decision but the public at large will lose." . . . The FCC's proposed changes had already prompted a fierce backlash from critics, who feared media giants would use their greater market share to control news content, advertising revenues and cable rates. . . . There has already been extensive radio consolidation in the US following the 1996 legislation. . . . Clear Channel has acquired nearly a 10th of Amercia's 13,000 stations and syndicated content across its network.

posted by Lorenzo 11:29 AM