jules.ca

telecom, technology and the occasional floobergeist

I’ve got an abundance of bits and pieces of canadian telecom and internet experience, and I am thrilled to be in a place in time when all is changing, technology is developing, and the status quo is being disrupted. 

Floobergeist is a word that is beginning to defy definition.  The more I roll that smooth pebble around, the more it becomes to mean. Floobergeist started out as the magic dust that turns dreams into ideas.  And then it began to encompass the zing that happens when you have conversations about those ideas. And now, it’s the whole evolution from dream to conversation, with each step improving the later and the former along the way.

Everyone aspires to good conversations. They can lead you to adventures you’ve never imagined, and to people you can twig with.

Let’s have a good conversation…

welcome.

Censorship and Free Speech and Neutrality

August 09, 2007  /  jules kivell

Thanks to Michael Geist for this one….

Pearl Jam is reporting that AT&T has censored parts of their recent webcast, cutting out references to George Bush. AT&T has since apologized, but it makes you wonder, if it hadn’t been caught, would AT&T have done anything?  Would anyone have been the wiser?

I just watched The Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing. Completely taken aback at the insanity that permeates the southern US. It’s an outstanding moving/documentary.  Definately worth the watch, even if you aren’t a big country listener.  It’s got some significant scenes that document the political fervor in the US during the 1st Bush Administration.

The lyrics that Pearl Jam had censored:

- “George Bush, leave this world alone.” (the second time it was sung); and- “George Bush find yourself another home.”
What The Dixie Chicks said: We are embarrassed that George Bush is from Texas.

In Pearl Jam’s case - it was the fans who brought the censorship to their attention. With the Dixie Chicks, it was the fans who put the pressure on radio stations to stop playing their lyrics.  It was the fans who went rabid overnight over their beloved Texan president.

Funny what can change over a few years, eh?

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