Google/DoubleClick In Anti-Trust

FTC to investigate Google-DoubleClick deal Privacy issues, competition draw investigators' interest by Steven Schwankert May 29, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Google Inc.'s proposed $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick Inc., according to news reports. (ComputerWorld)

I am not sure what is more scary, that Google is being investigated, or that if an anti-trust issue is discovered, Microsoft may be able to put in their bid for the company. Personally, Microsoft owning DoubleClick worries me more than Google does.

DRM Suit Tossed in Finland

Finnish court rules DVD DRM 'ineffective,' chucks suits Helsinki judges not wowed by CSS protection by Jeremy Kirk May 29, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- A Finnish court ruling is prompting questions over the wording of a European copyright directive that prohibits publishing information that could enable illegal DVD copying. (ComputerWorld)

What is surprising is that Digital Rights Management is supposed to be the savior of the music and video industry. What is not surprising is that it is easily broken and as the judges in tech savvy Finland have ruled, never really worked well to begin with.

The RIAA and MPAA have been going after music and movie pirates for years. While I understand the amount of money being lost issue, I still come back around to a much more core problem. Neither the music nor the movie industry has really released much in the way of quality stuff in the last few dozen years and the stuff that people want, they are refusing to rerelease in a media format that is current. So tell me again why I should be supporting their efforts to go after some kids that broke their glass bottle? If they were really serious, they would join the 21st century and find a way to actually make money off of downloads, instead of whining about it.

Prince Harry Is Not Going to Iraq

General: Prince Harry won't go to Iraq By DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago LONDON - Britain's Prince Harry will not be sent with his unit to Iraq, Britain's top general said Wednesday, citing specific threats to the third in line to the throne and the risks to his fellow soldiers. (Yahoo News)

As I said in an earlier post keeping the Prince out of Iraq is probably the best of the "bad decisions" and I am glad to see that Prince Charles's office released a statement to that effect as well as the support from the military as well. It was a difficult decision I am certain for all parties to make as well as accept.

Why Paris Hilton Matters

Paris Hilton draws petitions for, against jail Wed May 9, 2007 8:17am ET146 By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Internet was abuzz with rival petitions on Tuesday from fans and foes of jail-bound heiress Paris Hilton alternately asking California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to pardon her or make sure she serves her time.

"We think 45 days in jail is a cruel punishment for the caliber of what she did," said Kyle Vincent, an artist who launched the FreeParis.org Web site and is trying to collect one million signatures on a petition seeking clemency by June 5, the date the hotel heiress was ordered to report to jail. Vincent, 27, described himself as a longtime Hilton fan who believes her story that she was unaware her license had been suspended when she was caught driving 70 mph, or 45 mph over the speed limit after dark without headlights in February. (Reuters)

This caught my eye, more because of the bizarre nature of it than its newsworthiness. I am a big believer in the law should apply and be applied equally to everyone. I am also old enough to know that this is never, nor will it ever be, the case.

So, what to do with poor Paris. Frankly, 45 days in jail would probably do her some good, but so would 45 days of real community service. I am not condoning her actions. She was speeding, she was on a suspended licenses (and I suspect one of her handlers not only knew but forgot to tell her this) and she deserves to be punished. But how do you punish the famous. Unless the punishment enacts some sort of real change in behavior, there is more overhead involved than with a non-famous criminal. And the more famous, the higher the overhead. I do not believe she should be pardoned. But I am not quite sure how to punish her either.

Risk Mitigation, Not Elimination Is The Key

Everybody is freedom's beneficiary, so everyone is freedom's protector -- Tom Ridge, former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security at GovSEC's Keynote address May 9, 2007

I had the opportunity to see Tom Ridge talk today. If you had asked me before, I would have said he was just another suit that did not understand this issue faced by the first responder community. I was pleasantly surprised today to see, from his words, that he not only gets it, he understands the real issues facing the community and in many cases, the nation.

In the years since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, there has been a down tick in the general preparedness among the population. In talking with some folks, even in California where there are risks every day, a small percentage of the population is truly ready for an emergency. And I am not talking about something catastrophic either. An emergency could be as simple as a house fire or a plumbing leak that floods your basement. It will still be a mess to clean up. In the case of a catastrophic emergency, such as hurricane, terrorist action or biohazard it can take days to get things back to something resembling functioning order, and literally years to get back to anything resembling normal, as those in New Orleans can testify.

There are not enough resources in terms of money and technology that can be distributed to every locality in the nation to get them ready. It is the sort of thing that each community has to undertake on its own because all disasters start and end locally.

The one thing he said that I disagree with what that the face of terrorism is changing. I disagree because the face of terrorism is the same as it has always been, but in the United States, the blinders have been ripped away and for the first time, the nation is truly exposed. In the past, the IRA, FMLA, FLQ, Basque Nationals and other have not shown any indication that they cared on iota for the United States, but the jihadist have their sights set on the US because that is where they perceive the biggest affect. Terrorism has been around for millions of years and it will continue to plague mankind. You cannot kill an -ism. You can, however, mitigate the risks and defuse the underlaying cause.