Kenosha News

News and Video. Top Stories, World, US, Business, Sci/Tech, Entertainment, Sports, Health, Most Popular.

• America
• Barack Obama
• Congress
• Supreme Court
• United States
• Washington
• White House

Quote For The Day
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

PrintEmailPDF

posted by 71353 @ 12:47 PM, ,

Craigslist: Libertarian Newspaper Slayer!

PrintEmailPDF

I'd understand if The New Republic's Barron YoungSmith watched this ReasonTV's video excoriating the politicians and pundits who advocate newspaper bailouts and was left wondering if "libertarian ideology is killing newspapers." But this bizarre post at The Plank argues that Craigslist's owners, often (erroneously) blamed for destroying the old media business model by putting classified ads online for free, are destroying the news industry because they "are devoted to a form of libertarian ideology." He explains:

While Wal-Mart is bent on maximizing returns for its shareholders--an appropriate goal, for a corporation--Craigslist is not. Instead, [Big Money's Mark] Gimein explains, Craigslist doesn't even try to profit from its economic activities, because its owners are devoted to a form of libertarian ideology:

For all the stories written about Craigslist and the profiles of its founder, the company can still baffle anybody trying to make sense of it. A telling episode was the performance of Jim Buckmaster, the CEO who runs Craigslist day to day, at an investor conference where he was asked to explain the company's strategy for maximizing revenue. Buckmaster answered that it didn't have one... or want one because that wasn't the point.

[Ellipses in the original.]

I haven't a clue what any of this means. Is one engaged in "economic activities" if, by and large, no money is changing hands? If there is no intention of making a profit; no advertising; and limited fees for those posting ads? (Small fees were first introduced as a way of preventing double posting of real estate listings from spamming New York brokers). So why is Wal-Mart (a company I defended here) not "libertarian," while Craigslist, which is run by the left-liberal Craig Newmark and basically provides its services for free, is? It is unclear how Jim Buckmaster's non-strategy strategy counts as sinister and free market, but YoungSmith adds this bit of clarification:

Instead of profits, Gimein shows, Craigslist's owners manage the organization in the service of an idea.

A lesson that it was hard for [me] to learn," [founder Craig] Newmark told Charlie Rose, "was that people are good and trustworthy and moderate." Craigslist is Newmark's vote of confidence in that lesson. ... Bad things don't come from what two individuals decide to do together. They come from the institutions that stand between them.

Shorter YoungSmith: A business that facilitates yardsale-like transactions, that eases the process of unloading your excess junk on neighborhood hoarders, is working in service of a libertarian idea. And by destroying a key newspaper revenue stream, those Craigslist libertarians are, in turn, destroying those who valiantly defend democracy at the Los Angeles Times, Rocky Mountain News, and Lowell Sun. Or something.

posted by 71353 @ 10:45 AM, ,

Queen Elizabeth's D-Day anniversary snub, and a Tomasky blog contest

PrintEmailPDF

What do you make of this story? Either Robert Gibbs misspoke in raising this Queen business, or someone in the Obama White House was supposed to handle this chore and didn't get around to it. Weird.

I think it's pretty clear at this point that Obama has some kind of thing about poor Gordon Brown. He doesn't really like the guy. Maybe it's just that Brown is very unpopular, and Obama is suspicious that Brown would try to bask in Obama's refracted glow. But that wouldn't explain non-watchable DVDs.

The more chilling possibility, of course, is that it isn't really about Brown and that Obama just doesn't like England that much. Could this be possible?

When Barack and I were growing up -- we're about the same age -- Britain was the coolest thing going. The Beatles, the Stones, everything that came after -- I would have killed to have a British accent when I was young. I doubt he was immune to this. Usually these emotional impulses, the ones that get implanted into your DNA when you're very young. But maybe he was immune to it. Strange.

Hence, the contest: Since Obama gave Brown DVDs about America, what DVDs about Britain would you suggest he see in order that he get a better, fuller, more nuanced picture of your great nation? I don't necessarily mean patriotic or happy-talk movies, just great movies that are very British. My list: This Happy Breed; Brief Encounter; The Entertainer; The Four Feathers; A Hard Day's Night; Last Orders (very underappreciated); Look Back in Anger; Goodbye, Mr. Chips; something by Hitchcock, and something by Powell and Pressburger, though I'm not sure what.

• Obama administration
• Monarchy

posted by 71353 @ 8:01 AM, ,

No Surprise Here: Three Strikes Law Creates Opportunity For Encrypted VPN Services In France

PrintEmailPDF

Just as we saw how stricter laws on unauthorized file sharing increased the demand for encryption services in Sweden, Dan alerts us to the news that new encryption services are popping up in France in response to that country's recent approval of a law to kick file sharers off the internet. And so the cat and mouse game continues. Perhaps at some point, rather than fighting new technologies and consumer wishes, some of these politicians and copyright holders will decide to embrace the technology and use it to their advantage. Otherwise, they're just going to find that they'll keep passing ever more useless laws, driving people to newer and newer technologies to get around those laws.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

posted by 71353 @ 7:55 AM, ,

Security stepped up at abortion clinics in US after killing of Dr George Tiller

PrintEmailPDF

Controversy sharpens as man arrested in connection with shooting revealed to have links to rightwing militias

The US ordered increased security for abortion doctors and clinics todayas details emerged of close links between the man held for the murder of one of the country's most prominent abortion ?doctors and rightwing militias with strong anti-government views.

The killing of Dr George Tiller at his ?Kansas church on Sunday, and the arrest of 51 year-old Scott Roeder as he fled the scene, has added fresh impetus to the abortion debate shortly before congressional hearings begin for Sonia Sotomayor, Barack Obama's nominee to the supreme court, at which she is certain to be pressed for her views on the issue.

In Washington the attorney general, Eric Holder, ordered the US marshals service to step up protection of abortion doctors and their clinics, many of which have routine protection after years of being ?targeted by extremists and mainstream anti-abortion groups. Nine abortion ?doctors, clinic workers and others have been murdered in recent years. Tiller was wearing a bulletproof jacket when he was shot in the head, and frequently travelled with bodyguards after he was wounded in an earlier assassination attempt.

Obama denounced the killing. ?"However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence," he said.

But some prominent anti-abortion activists came close to justifying it. ?Randall Terry, founder of the largest anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue, issued a statement that fell short of condemning the murder and tried to shift attention to the political fight by warning that Obama would now use it to pressure organisations which describe themselves as "pro-life".

"George Tiller was a mass murderer.We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God," he said."I am more concerned that the Obama administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name: murder."

Dave Leach, editor of an anti-abortion newsletter, Prayer and Action News, to which Roeder occasionally contributed told the New York Times he had once met the alleged killer. "To call this a crime is too simplistic," Leach said. "There is Christian scripture that would support this."

Roeder's family said in a statement they were "shocked, horrified and filled with sadness at the death of Dr Tiller". "We know Scott as a kind and loving son, brother and father who suffered from mental illness at various times in his life," the family said. "However, none of us ever saw Scott as a person capable of or willing to take another person's life."

Others painted a picture of a more extreme man. Roeder has been identified as the likely poster of questions about Tiller on Operation Rescue's website. Among other things, a man with his name suggested going to Tiller's church to confront him and other members of the congregation over his work.

"Blaess (sic) everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp," he wrote. "Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there?"

In 1996, Roeder was convicted over the discovery of explosives and bomb-making equipment, along with a military rifle, gas mask and ammunition, in his car and sentenced to two years in prison. But his conviction was overturned on appeal on the grounds that the police had illegally searched his car.

The FBI identified Roeder as a member of the anti-government Freemen group, which described itself as made up of Christian patriots, whose leaders were sentenced to prison terms after a three month armed stand-off with law enforcement forces in Montana 13 years ago.

The Kansas City Star newspaper quoted a man identified as commander of the Kansas Unorganized Citizens Militia in the mid-1990s, Morris Wilson, as saying he knew Roeder at the time. "I'd say he's a good ol' boy, except he was just so fanatic about abortion," Wilson said. "He was always talking about how awful abortion was." Operation Rescue denounced the killing as "vigilantism" and cowardly.

It said it instead wanted to see Tiller "brought to justice" for what it regards as the murder of the unborn.

• United States


• Abortion

guardian.co.uk ? Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

posted by 71353 @ 6:40 AM, ,

5 Reasons Alabama Should Elect Roy Moore, the 10 Commandments Judge, Governator of Alabama

PrintEmailPDF

posted by 71353 @ 6:10 AM, ,

Archives

• Jun 1, 2009
• Jun 3, 2009
• Jun 6, 2009
• Jun 7, 2009
• Jun 8, 2009
• Jun 9, 2009
• Jun 11, 2009
• Jun 14, 2009
• Jun 25, 2009
• Jun 27, 2009
• Jul 1, 2009
• Jul 2, 2009
• Jul 11, 2009
• Jul 15, 2009
• Jul 16, 2009
• Current Posts

Previous Posts

• Boy walks to protest Farc
• THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING AND THE AMERICAN WORKER.
• Emma Soames on fashion and style for the older gen...
• Obama On LGBT Pride Month
• Investigation Links Reality Shows, Suicide
• READER JUSTIN BINIK-THOMAS emails from a rally in ...
• Dean: Bypass Bipartisanship On Health Care
• Vijay Singh Offered to Pay $500K Toward Allen Stan...
• Obama wants public option in health care bill -- a...
• THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING AND THE AMERICAN WORKER.

Links

• Top Stories
• World
• US
• Business
• Sci/Tech
• Entertainment
• Sports
• Health
• Most Popular

© 2009 Kenosha News | Site Feed | Back to top