Author Archives: Karl

Clear Channel to Opie and Anthony – we have no interest

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Update 2/26/2002: Things have gone too far!

Now Clear Channel is moving to shut down Howard Stern!

Please click this url to continue the discussion.

Following is a previous post on Opie and Anthony:

Opie and Anthony got the door slammed in their faces by Clear Channel yesterday, as the radio giant said it had absolutely no interest in hiring the just-fired shock jocks.
“They don’t fit in with the brands we have in New York. God bless ’em, but we have no interest in them at all,” said Andy Rosen, Clear Channel’s regional vice president.

Read the rest in the NYPost.

I can’t believe someone actually thinks this is a free speach issue. Common! That’s bullshit. I *listened* to the show regularly and I still realize that just makes no sense.

Normal people have gotten fired for much much less. We may not like it. But that’s the way it is. If the employeer felt strongly enough, they could have took it to court. But it looks like Infinity caved. Don’t get mad if some Catholic groups are upset. They have every right to be offended.

You an O&A supporter and you wanna get mad? Get mad because Infinity caved. They are the employers. They held the cards. Could have took the fines. Could have went to court. Could have done as they did for years with Howard Stern. O&A were doing what they were paid to do after all. They just got fired for doing what they were told to do.

Believe me – back in the day – Howard Stern was way more controversial then O&A. President Bush was recently joking around with Ozzy! Do you realize the relationship those in power had with the entertainment industry in the 80s? Remember – the 80s were the PMRC decade. It’s a whole new ballgame now.

Lileks sets the matter straight.

It looks like good ‘ol free market capitalism is going to do it’s work. No advertisers – no jobs. But that’s temporary. I’m sure someone somewhere will take a chance on them soon enough.

Well I used to be king at this…

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Yeah it’s getting a lot of play elsewhere, but it’s fun. Here is the official home page of the Air Guitar Championships. Check out the MetaFilter thread.

It’s kinda weird going to concerts now and suppressing the urge. I mean, I remember this one concert where me and a guitar player friend of mine were putting on a real display while Metallica was on stage. A very pretty girl tapped my shoulder and told me I was putting on a better show then the band. conversation ensued. no lie! Aha… I’ve finally posted something potentially embarrasing to my weblog. At least it’s not a kitten picture 🙂

Java 1.4.1 rc supports “partial upgrades”

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Along with the Java Web Start changes, there are improvements to the Java Plug-in and its associated Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Prior versions of the JRE required a complete download to install a new version of the runtime environment. The latest version includes a Java Update mechanism that allows the runtime environment to be patched with a partial download.

Check out the rest in this JavaLobby thread.

Poverty in the land of plenty

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First, “Lousy leadership at City Hall,” as Mr. Rowland put it recently (though an aide later said the governor was not referring to the current mayor or his predecessor). Experts say regressive tax policies, grand but ill-conceived downtown revitalization projects and a racially antagonistic relationship with its white suburbs has damaged Hartford to an extent rarely seen in major American cities.

…In the 1980’s and 1990’s, for instance, they negotiated some of the most unfavorable union contracts in the city’s history, including a 25-percent raise over three years for firefighters. They also approved rules that allowed executive employees, including the city manager, to collect full pensions after only 15 years of service, terms that experts said would bankrupt any private enterprise.

Read the rest in the this NYTimes article.

Sounds similar to Philadelphia ehh? That’s why you gotta vote for Rendell. The only mayor that made progress to fight those trends.

Blowing Copyright

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I lost an argument about copyright protection on the Internet the other night. I lost the same argument a couple of weeks ago. In fact, I lose this argument every time I have it. Most recently, to a Washington lawyer at a semi-friendly business dinner. I said that we’ve always been allowed to make copies of music and books: Yes, but, the lawyer said, the Internet lets one copy serve thousands of people. I said, the record companies rip off the artists who only get a buck or two out of the 15 to 20 we pay. Yesbut, says the lawyer, that’s the contract they signed and you don’t have the right to deprive them of those few dollars. I said, photocopiers are used to violate copyright all the time, and we’re not talking about disabling them. Yesbut digital technology gives us a way of protecting intellectual property and we have no excuse not to use it.

…The very thing the most conservative among us have dreamt of, have died for since the founding of this country, is now within our grasp: free markets, free speech, worldwide. And we’re blowing it because some dinosaur companies insist on maintaining their grip on every last dollar before their industry dies.

Read the rest in in this great David Weinberger piece. It’s maybe a draft, but it rocks.

One in 32 under supervision by the criminal justice system

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How many people have to be under direct supervision of law enforcement before you have a police state?

…it’s a bigger, though far less remarked-upon, injustice than any that are involved in the War on Terrorism.

And that’s a snippet of Glenn Reynolds’ take. Read the rest.

Go get the breakdown at TalkLeft: 1 of Every 32 Adults Now in Prison.

This quote stands out:

“The overall figures suggest that we’ve come to rely on the criminal justice system as a way of responding to social problems in a way that’s unprecedented”

But of course. The sad thing is… do you realize that the average guy on the street believes that’s the way it should be? A huge majority of people I know simply believe that if people break laws – they should go to jail. Little attention is spent on the reasons why people break laws in the first place anymore. Or if the laws broken are even valid… like how many drug users instead of drug dealers get jailed?