More Control of The Sheeples... This time it's their $$$...

You are probably sick of hearing about the latest piece of idiocy from our political overlords.  I know I am, but something that you should pay attention to is when they decide to impose restrictions on you without any clear mandate from the electorate....

I am not a lawyer, so the implications of the proposals on both side of the Pacific by the US and Oz federal governments are being interpreted by me in "simple English".   I haven't include links to the various Laws / Statutes because there are simply so many.  Just go google "reporting bearer negotiable instruments" for your government (the link is for the Oz ".gov.au".... just drop the ".au" for the US).

That said, the limit on CASH (or equivalent blah, blah, "instruments") being carried IN TO or OUT OF either country is $10,000.  That has to be declared when you pass through customs.

As others have said, I don't really see a problem with that as it is currently defined.  I'd be nervous carrying that much cash (USD$ or AUD$) when travelling internationally.  Anyone who seems to see a need to carry that much "negotiable monetary instruments" internationally is likely as not trying to hide something.  Either taxes, duties or the legality of their purpose.

However, the US Congress has gotten it into its collective head to place a limit on those same "negotiable monetary instruments"  (ie: CASH) when you carry it around WITHIN your own country.

Disturbingly the Oz federal nutters are making noises of a similar idiotic nature.

Ok, I get it.  Someone carrying 100's of $1000s of dollars is probably doing something shady.  But setting the proposed limit at the same as  the cross-border transfer one of $10k is ludicrous. Think for ONE second how much things cost and how much you get for a "cash discount".... For those not familiar with the problem here, there are ceilings / limits on EFTPOS transactions, ATM withdrawls and bank-to-bank transfers.  Want to guess how LOW those limits are ?

The limits vary a little from bank to bank and between countries, but for Oz, the typical ATM tops out at $1k, EFTPOS at between $1k and $2k, and the bank-to-bank daily limit at $10k.  The limits on non-prepaid credit cards is massively higher (think buying a new car with a CC... it happens).

So when you negotiate that marvelous discount off your new lounge, white goods, home theatre or car, you had better think about how you will actually make the payment.

Having haggled a large discount on a used car by offering a cash settlement on the day (end of month for the dealer, so he had an incentive), I know that EFTPOS, ATM and bank-to-bank were not options. My only recourse was to front up to a bank teller at a business branch (not just any old branch due to size of withdrawl... I phoned ahead to find out what I had to do), sign an actual piece of paper and enter my PIN and acknowledge that I knew the bank would report the transaction as required under Law.  All that was fine by me and the bank and the dealer.

However, under the proposed Law for the USA (and likely as not heading for Oz), the fact of carrying that amount of physical currency without the appropriate government forms would lead to forfeiture (ie: they get it and I can never claim it back, even in court) plus the added problem of arrest and imprisonment for 5+ (at least) years.

If you think your (US or Oz) government is seriously doing this to "fight drugs" and/or "fight terrorism", you might want to think again.

Included in the proposed Bill is an attempt to bring control of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under the same umbrella of Laws and strictures that apply to physical currency.  If you don't believe that this is happening, do a quick google of the proposed Bill.  Here's one search link as an example; Google Search "Senate Bill 1241".

And finally, for those "stackers" who think shifting any of their savings into precious metals will mitigate the risk, that is a possible solution, but not without its own risks.  Quite apart from the need to keep it OUT of any financial or government-run institution (look it up), keeping it safe somewhere you can get at it and not have it stolen or seized is a bit problematic, except possibly for "preppers". But do not forget that what amounts to legalised theft by your government is not beyond the realms of possibility... they HAVE done it before back in the USA in the 1930s.... (have a read....Gold Reserve Act of 1934).


Always remember; the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.... (never trust a desperate, bankrupt or corrupt government)...

Equality At What Price ?

To avoid being dragged into court, I'll put the disclaimer first.  I have no affiliation with, nor do I make any representations regarding the views held by anyone I reference in this missive.... and I am not a lawyer (thankfully)...

In regards to relationships in the 21st century I have only ONE thing to say to any male seeking female companionship..... "caveat emptor".

Why ?  Have a look into what has happened to "equality" in the context of Family Courts around the globe.  Stuck for somewhere to start?  Try the books and videos by one Helen Smith.

Otherwise, "have a nice day".

Advisory: "Cookies notification in European Union countries"

According to Google, apparently my little blog has to comply with an EU directive about cookies even though I don't use them or Adsense, simply because apparently they (Google) do use cookies on my site for some purpose. (Extract; "The notice lets visitors know about Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies on your blog, including Google Analytics and AdSense cookies.")

To that end, please find Google's notice <here>. I have no control over what they choose to wrap around my blog.

Now for the generic disclaimer that presents almost zero legal defence..

• I do not use or create any cookies on my blog (<http://www.lost-oracle.net/>)
• I do not use any Alphabet Inc, or subsidiary company tracking or marketing tools on this site.
• As suggested as a possibility by Google's notice, the default warning does not appear.
• I do not have any affiliation to any Alphabet Inc. company.
• This is a personal blog and does not necessarily represent any position for my employer.
• I am not now, nor have I ever been associated or affiliated with Oracle Corporation.

Per my other sites' disclaimer; "If you represent an entity or representative with suitable authority to request removal of a link,  I'm sure you have the resources to determine my personal email and direct the appropriate correspondence."

If you represent any person or legal entity that takes issue with any content of my blog, and have some content you wish redacted or modified, please contact me before calling lawyers.... Please note that comments are turned off to prevent 3rd parties placing potentially litigious content. Also please remember that this blog is generally comprised of personal opinion pieces and are not reflective or endorsed by my employer.

Remember, when we go to court the only winners are the lawyers. ;-)

Your "Rights" end when they impinge on someone else!

Political correctness is worse than a bad joke.  Just search the term in reference to any of the "noisy" movements/groups and you will get the idea.

There was a time when being "PC" was considered necessary to curb the trend in so-called "hate speech" and other malicious verbal attacks.  The argument is simple.  The target's perception of statements was the important part, rather than any implied or intended nature by the source. That's great.... it *should* work.

I'll avoid the obvious arguments about "PC zealots", etc.

What has PC to do with "Rights" ?

Here's the problem.  The bulk of the western countries (just the "West" hereafter) have entrenched political correctness and related "protections" in Law.  That includes Legal protection of individual's Rights in the face of nonphysical attacks.  Critically, that protection is largely without exception.  So how does this become a problem?  When people and groups use these "protections" to disguise attacks on others.

When people and groups say that they are experiencing an "attack on XYZ" in response to not receiving special treatment, THAT is a perversion of the intent of the Law.  What they are saying is that they should have Laws enacted or changes in existing Laws to "protect their Rights".

But what "Rights"?

Now we have a problem.... because the "Rights" they claim are needed would inherently impact or remove the Rights of those they claim are attacking them.  That "claim" is highly dubious since the "attacks" usually are of forms of behaviour or speech that they claim are somehow harmful to them.

Their solution?  Revoke the Rights of the group or people they claim are the offenders.  Most sane people would say that if there are existing Laws to protect from these attacks, the logical course would be to engage Law enforcement to take action.  Yes, that would work, except that this is not logical and engaging the Law would run counter to their objective. Why?  Because in most of the West there are also Laws about defamation, libel, slander and misuse of the Law. Their claim would be tested in a court of Law, and almost certainly thrown out.  But why?  They are raising a furore about something that only exists in their heads, not reality.

So, if going to court and using the current Laws is counter to their objective, what is their objective?

I'm drawing a subjective assessment of news over the past decade, and so it could be wrong, but I don't believe so....

They want to have the Laws changed and new ones enacted to explicitly change the nature of the country and its legal system to favour them over others.  Yes.  I believe that they want their "Rights" to be extended to such extent that if you do not agree, then you are wrong and your Rights are less important than theirs.

No.

How does political correctness get entangled in this mess?  People in the West have generally become too forgiving and too inclined to back away from confrontation.  Sure, there are exceptions, but most people will try to help.  When faced with outright hatred and vehement diatribes, we have been conditioned by decades of enforced PC behaviour to try to calm the situation or just not add to the vitriol that is being spewed forth.  So we become meek.  We ignore, yes ignore, the hate speech being fired at us so we can "listen to their grievances calmly"..... because that is what we're supposed to do... right?

What just happened?

We let someone spew forth a stream of violent and unforgiving hate speech, and we didn't slam them down for it?

Picking a random group previously targeted as an example.  Let's say we witness a violent verbal attack about the racial background on a recent immigrant.  What do we do?  At the very least, we will stand as a witness in any ensuing court case.  At the most, we may spring to their defence and interject to counter the abuse.  Ok, that may only apply in a perfect world, but there are still good people who do that sort of thing in the right way (not just for a headline).

But what happened when someone abuses someone by CLAIMING that said someone has somehow offended them to such a degree that they (the attacker) feel threatened?  They seem to get away with it time after time.  Just watch the news.  How many times do we see this?  Violence being ignored for fear that any reaction will be met with CLAIMS that the offenders are actually the victims....

Rather than start a flame war about the specifics, I've left out the groups in question, but you should note that this tactic of claiming to be fighting to "defend their Rights" while simultaneously trying to strip others of theirs is not unique to one group.  There are better examples than the "immigrant" one, but if I used them, then I'd be accused of attacking group X or group Y.

We've been so passive and so dedicated to being PC that we no longer have the stomach for it.  We will need to if we are not to be crushed out of existence.

The bottom line is simple.  YOU have Rights.  I have Rights.  YOUR Rights END where they impinge on MINE!  (And vice versa of course.)

So, the next time you hear someone sprouting a diatribe, listen to check if their "claims" would in effect remove someone else's Rights.


Footnote: I know I'm not the first to say any of this. Google it...

Rights! Heresy! Revolution! and The Sale of Sovereignty!

Orwell's 1984 + Metropolis = Umbrella Corporation

Australians were dubbed "a weird mob" many decades passed.  Until very recent years, compulsory voting was necessary in Australia because the populace were deemed so apathetic they couldn't be bothered to go to the polls on a Saturday.... at least not while the pub was still open!

While the population is aging, the attitudes of those of working age now (2015) is significantly departing from what it was in the mid-20th Century.

Critically, things that were typified as "Australian" in the late 1940s and 1950s could be summed up simply; a sense of national identity, a close kinship with fellow members of the British Commonwealth, and a healthy feeling of not taking ourselves too seriously.

Australia had become wealthy rapidly, and had "grown up". It had developed a comparatively affluent middle class, while simultaneously denying the existence of a de facto class structure with as many tears as tiers.  We deny it still, but that doesn't change the facts.

ONE THING that Australians have always been very big on is "a fair go".... year, after year, after year.... we still cling to the ideal...

So, where am I going with this rambling essay ?   Three letters; "T" "P" "P".

For those who haven't noticed, we have had a singularly unsuccessful outcome from the decade just passed when it came to the so-called USA/Oz "Free Trade Agreement" (another 3-letter acronym... get used to that). We were sold a "pup" as the old saying goes.

Put simply, the idea of any FTA is to "level the playing field". To remove artificial barriers to trade such as tariffs, quotas or subsidies.  They are great, in theory....  Reality however is a very unforgiving stick with which to get beaten.

I've pretty well had the proverbial gutfull of my OWN Federal Government selling my country out from under my fellows and myself....

We knew various of our leaders had less spine than a jelly fish.

We knew that the "electoral farce" that passes for "democracy" here tends to favor whoever has the biggest bank roll (kinda like our Legal, not "justice", System).

We also knew that on more than one occasion, our "allies" (not just the USA, but the UK, France, etc.) have at some point played us for fools.  More than once they have decided that something they wanted was something best not done in their own backyards, so they used ours... Maralinga, Bikini Atoll.... and when we complained, they reacted badly... Whitlam dismissal.

We let the USA & UK lead us by the nose into a war that was not ever going to end well for anyone. Not once. Not twice. But thrice!

Before anyone reacts to that, I should emphasize that I support our troops, but not the fools that send them to fight and die.

So, what's this got to do with the "TPP" ?

You may want to read the details yourself (Yes, the "privileged few" and "fools with power" are the only "supporters".) ;

• EFF
• Wikipedia
• NY Times
• The Guardian (also)
• Huffington Post
• Independent Australia
• The Seattle Times
• The Asia-Pacific Journal
• Newsweek
• normal people

Disturbingly, even an "apologists view" highlights concerns that non-USA citizens are voicing.  That situation is only made worse when the same newspaper cites ; "[people] who believe in [National] sovereignty should be outraged that ISDS would shift power from [Nation's] courts".  Yes, the [...] bits are substitutions I made to make a point. In the original article, the focus at this point is on the USA, but the substitution of any group of [people]" from any "[Nation]" is part of the collateral damage that the TPP carries.

Now, I should point out that I like the "theory" of America, just as I like the "theory" of the "plucky Brit" and all that goes with being part of "The Empire" (even one on the wane). Critically, there are a LOT of things about both the USA and the UK to like, and a LOT of "normal people" (however you want to define that) in both countries.

So, this is NOT an exercise in "America bashing".  (Not even really about "corporate bashing".)

Consider:  As I type this on my American web site, using my Taiwanese designed & Chinese built laptop, in my cosy home in middle-class Australia, paid for by a pay packet from my corporate overlord, while collecting data from all over the British-invented WWW, hosted on the American-military invented Internet, the "irony" of the statements in this post are not lost on me....

However, "all that glisters is not golden", and not all amenities and conveniences are worth the price.

While writing this, I seriously considered; "If I emigrated to escape the fools in Canberra, where would I go?".  The sad truth is, even the country whose lobbyists and major corporations are behind this piece of mind-numbing insanity (the TPP), even THAT country (the USA) is no a safe haven nor even a place where democracy is "healthy". Their own populace and press are questioning the merits of this Hell-for-leather push to get this agreement into place!

Let me sum it up in a few simple dot-points.

• Entrenches the ability for corporations to impose their Law on the Nation State
• Grants sweeping powers to corporations to sue governments
• Extends the ability for the export/imposition of American Law internationally
• Prevents Nation States from creation of Laws to protect individual rights
• Creates a pseudo-legal system outside International Law
• Further neuters the UN as a force for promotion of "inalienable human rights"
• Places Corporate profit above National interest

Even for the most rabid pro-American "USA! USA! USA!", extreme-right, gun toting "good ol' boy", this new "agreement" is bad news.... unless of course you're family is one of the "privileged few".

Back to the title of this post...

• Heresy: Would Australia be better off becoming one or more additional states of the USA ?  People have fought and died to keep this a sovereign nation. (No, not like the American War of Independence. I know that!  And yes, I checked that article.... it wasn't April 1st!)

• Revolution: How much more corporate oppression will Joe Citizen (key word there) accept before once more the rally to the flag to throw off the yoke of the oppressors ?  And if such a call went out, which side would the armed forces and Law enforcement groups take ?  More pointedly, would a "popular uprising" actually take hold in Australia ?

• Sale of Sovereignty:  Now THAT is happening under the TPP.  How cheaply our elected representatives handed away our Right to Self-Determination. (Yes, the irony of who wrote that and why is disturbing when the outcome is considered.)

They took away (most of) our arms.  They limited or revoked our Rights to free speech and and freedom of assembly and association.  They eliminated avenues under the Law to defend ourselves.  Now they seek to export our remaining democratic rights to foreign corporations.

For the "TLDR;" brigade, it means that the "megacorp of most dystopian futures is on your doorstep, NOW". So what are you going to do about it ?

I for one, am voting with my wallet. Those of you who know me personally, know that this is (weirdly) "normal" for me, so I'm signing up for petitions and membership to lobby groups. It may be too late to stem the hemorrhaging of Rights completely, but if I do nothing, I have nobody to blame but myself when the worst case scenario finally comes to pass.

Question is, what will you do ?  Anything ?

If not, I hope you like our new corporate-and-unelected overlords...

As the men in my family have said (misquoting) for some generations now.... "I may not agree with you, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it."

Footnote: As usual, courtesy of some of the noted points above, I have intentionally not named any parties, nor expressly cited or implied any wrongdoing under the Law.... primarily to steer clear of any libel or defamation lawsuits... All copyrighted material linked or referenced is the property of the relevant entities or persons.

The Reality About "Property", IP & Copyright Law in the 21st Century

I'll start out by saying that region control, DRM and twisting the Laws of sovereign nations to suit the desires and business models of a handful of excessively wealthy and powerful individuals, corporations, oligarchies and cabals is fundamentally immoral when it is done at the expense of people's individual "inalienable" (remember that word) rights, security and welfare. I am not a Lawyer, but I've been pushed into reading a lot more legal gibberish in EULAs and enterprise licensing agreements than I care to think about.

Those who push the anti-controls and freedom wagon will probably be feeling confident that this will be a post in support of their position. I wish it was that simple.

Before the lawyers and other corporate droids start feeling comfortable, this post doesn't support your position at all.  But then, neither is it going to bash you.  Well, not much anyway.

The sad reality of a global economy with contracts and work being flung around the world to the lowest bidder has caused a hostile shift in the way "personal wealth" works.  Oh sure, the "whoever dies with the most toys wins" is still the end game, so the currency in the bank still matters.  But how "secure" is that for any but the wealthy elite ?  It turns out "not much" is the answer.

Permit me to explain.

Yes, "net worth" is the yardstick.  But what are we measuring really?

Ignore the wealthy for the moment and focus on "Joe or Jill wage earner".  Let's ignore semantics like "contractor", "salary vs wage" and all the minor variability associated with it.  The reality today is that YOUR job is only as secure as the company you are paid by.  Nothing really new there, except for one critical factor; YOUR cost of employment is being measured against EVERY other person with the same skill set, albeit via intermediaries.  So when it comes right down to it, the "average person" has been reduced to the status of a "day labourer".

What has this to do with property Law, DRM and copyright ?

Well, put simply, no ITEM produced has any real value any more.  The rights to the design of it, it's components and in a few cases the exotic materials that go into it have value, but the worker's input is under pressure in a race to zero.  That means the ONLY items that have any globally calculable VALUE are the "rights" and associated "licenses".  For those to be maintained, some form of control is required over their value across national borders, differing currencies and the target market's cost of living.

If you're not familiar with the term, it comes from highly competitive commerce where a price war is waged until only one survives.  Frequently associated with the "loss leader" approach to marketing, but more insidious since it dives down the real value in the "value added" equation for "labour", since most other factors are constants tied to license contracts and fixed inputs.

It's those "licenses" that are the nub of this.

Ultimately, the possible companies to manufacture any end product are sought globally and pitted against each other by the company wanting the product to be supplied for sale.  In any high-cost labour market, that is a setback if the product requires any significant labour content to produce.

Ignoring exchange rates for a moment, the cost of the product as-delivered to the consumers' hands is the only factor we're interested in here.  Same goes for whoever wanted it sold in that market.  Sure, a low value currency helps, but exchange rates are like weather when it comes to predictability. Labour costs are pretty much fixed by the cost of living in the production centre's location.

This brings me back to the subject.

Enter Copyright Law and DRM (and the fundamentally evil DMCA, WTO, etc.).

As I said, the company who owns the rights wants to monetize those rights and not have them eroded by regional differences.  To ensure this they attack on 2 fronts. First and foremost, they seek to control the distributed product to ensure it cannot be reshipped and sold in a different region at a price that reduces their potential for profit in that region. Related to this is the inconsistent practice of local production and more commonly exclusive distributor profit margins.  To maintain their supply chain with maximised profit, they have to ensure that no grey marketing (or parallel imports) can occur.

From the above little story we get DRM, region locking and artificially high prices.

The second prong of their attack is to ensure that the Laws in the target country support their business practices.  Note that if they can't get that, they behave like typically spoiled children and refuse to play making the black market effectively the only market.  For countries that are members of trade agreements or are members under the WTO, the outcome is already a "fix".  Under these various tools, the requisite Laws are bound to be legislated within certain time-frames that ensure the outcome.  What's the WTO got to do with this?  Have a read of the fine print of your country's agreements with the WTO and World Bank, and also a peek at any trade agreements such as "free trade".

From the above, many countries are bound by these tools to write into Law local variations of most USA-created legal insanities like the DMCA, with specific focus on the "anti-circumvention of DRM" clauses.

Curiously, my federal government published some documents for "best practice" and "legal frameworks" (but few new Laws to give it real strength) "privacy principles".  These little gems seem like a good idea on the surface..... Then the SAME government signed into Law some truly unbelievably broad-scope Laws to perform bulk harvesting of information with no safeguards (note that the afore mentioned privacy principles have no teeth).  What makes it worse is that since BOTH of the (effectively) 2-party system voted this into Law. So there's little to no chance that it will get repealed even if we vote the current idiots out!  Not that the other idiots are much better really, but this is not about the politics. It is about the wholesale sacrificing of any privacy, security of information or security of even a well-paying job.  Forget about a career.

Now, some will say I'm being alarmist. Some will say that this was "the price we pay for security in this terrorist-infected world".  Some will say that we're better off knowing that they're doing what they've "probably been doing secretly for years".

What NOBODY seems to be saying is that our OWN governments have sold us out.  Worse than that, they are now pushing this "prepare the globalization" and having well known (domestically anyway) public speakers pushing the "news" of this down our TVs.

The screwiest thing about all this is that the unions in the developed world stood up for the rights, pay and conditions of local workers have effectively lost the only real bargaining chip they had.... "strike".  The "withdrawal of labour to protest" in the developed world is almost dead for a very good reason.  If you do, then the chances are that unless there is a legal impediment, the company may just as easily ship your job overseas to cheaper or "less unionized" locations.... Such places will exist for as long as the 3rd world exists.

But I digress....

The ONLY real property that has any value now is either real estate or IP/rights.  Even then, they can both be taken away.  Remember, it's called a "Legal System", not a "Justice System" for a reason... Usually, the person/corporation with the deepest pockets wins.

So, that's about it.  If you want to understand why the various mega-corporations that own the rights or IP are so rabid about pursuing, prosecuting and extracting excessive "damages" for infringements from individuals, then there you have it.... They're defending the ONE thing that has any sustainable value in a global market place.  The fact that they're behaving worse than a cartel or cabal and pursuing financial punishments that are totally out of balance with the "crime" is getting the headlines.

I can't say that I agree with the corporate approach, but I do understand it.

Simultaneously however, I wonder how long it will be before governments and corporations realize that the globalization of business and region locking of products to maintain business practices runs totally out of step with the global marketplace THEY created.

For my fellow wage jockies, I suggest we find a way to obtain or leverage skills that result in an income that doesn't vanish when your region becomes "too expensive to employ the local labour".

A footnote to all this.... In the ultimate end game, there will be nearly ZERO human involvement in the physical production, distribution or even sales phases for products.  When that happens, we all need to be doing something else.  Even so-called "knowledge workers" are under pressure with the rise in AI. Only the creative phase seems relatively resilient, but how many industrial designers does it take to change (the design of) a light bulb ?


PS: If you think I'm being vague and not putting names to anything or anyone, there's a reason that should be pretty obvious... I have no desire to be sued!

 Enough with the "Found Footage" genre already, PLEASE!!

Seriously, the found footage genre is not good film making.  It is just plain lazy. And no, just because something took a lot of effort in the editing room, does not mean it is a work of art! POV = POS.

 It started with reality television. Sky rocketed following The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield.

Never have I felt so ripped off on buying a movie than when I had to endure over an hour of disjointed drivel that was critically acclaimed than when I bought VHS & VHS2.

Some movies incorporate the POV format with varying degrees of success. REC sort of works since it is both reasonably well made and has some semblance of a plot, even if it feels like yet another remake of George A. Romero's classic Night of the Living Dead.

But making an entire film based on some flimsy premise of recovered footage is a form of neuron genocide!

Hour after mind-numbing hour of image bounce, out of focus shots and static. Really?!?!?!   It may be a valid technique and even a valid niche genre, but only to enhance a real storyline. It worked in Doom (the movie), largely because that was what people wanted, but it did not consume the whole 100 minutes!

We know when the studios have lost any ideas for good new story or character driven films when we see Greek and other ancient civilization stories trotted out for their billionth remake!

Hopefully box office returns for this tripe will start to dwindle and movie makers will rediscover the use of story and character. I'm not going to hold my breath for that. Based on fact that the apparent intelligence level of the average person is dropping steadily, I fully expect to see a remake of Dumb and Dumber appearing some time soon in some lauded film festival as being "a unique perspective piece" on 1990s film making.

And folks, cinema goers and movie collectors aren't fooled for a second when you just transplant Hamlet, Othello or a piece of The Odyssey into outer space or somewhere in some backwater full of in-bred red necks or mutants. If you're going to do that, at least attribute it and add something to give it some weight.

Think about it.  When was the last time you saw a movie that had ;

• A plot
• Characters with some depth
• Was either truly escapist fun, or engrossing

Now think. Was that last time a movie that was 99% "found footage" ?  Or was it something more like Beautiful Creatures, Oblivion, Pacific Rim, Mortal Instruments, Total Recall or Anna Karenina ?

Nobody wants or expects movies to be intellectually challenging all the time. Even the smartest people like something that just raises their spirits from time to time. Hugo or Les Miserables may have both been somewhat more cerebral than Drive Angry or Season of the Witch, and none of them has the depth of something like Lord of The Rings or Alice In Wonderland. But they all manage to be entertaining without dumbing everything down or resorting to that woebegotten gimmick of "3D".

On an entertainment value, Inception and Shrek can be disturbingly placed on an equal footing with movies of generations past like Casablanca or Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Will people remember films like Paranormal Activity in the same league ?

Let us be honest here. The "found footage" genre is a fad.  Why?  It is simple; they are barely watchable the first time around, forget about rewatchability, it isn't there.  Once you know that the creature is not real and is going to jump out at specific points in the film, the suspense is gone and the way the film is made makes the whole experience just annoying.  And before you ask, no I am not some critic who feels that every move that depends on suspense is unrewatchable, no, I've watched Casablanca, Psycho and many other movies countless times for the sheer enjoyment of the immersion in the story, the characters and the art of the actors and directors who brought those movies to life.

A footnote should be made that a few of these "found footage" films do work, but when you read who the directors, writers and producers were, you realise that there is some real talent behind the scenes injecting some sanity into the process ; eg: a couple of the stories in VHS2 and REC.

So, Hollyweird, please ditch this irritating and braincell killing stupidity off and get back to making movies with some real depth.

"Build it and they will come..."

... somehow I don't think so... (time will tell...)

Using a something like a Twitter client as an example is possibly the most ridiculous case I've ever seen or heard of.  Lemme think about this.... a client for something that is almost as ubiquitous as the web itself gets what they are daring to call "a lot" of downloads.  Back in reality land, there are over 100 million twitter users, close to a billion Windows users.  Even if only a tenth of a percent of those users are trialling Win8, then the Win8 user base should be also over 100 million of them. In the unlikely reduction case of only having a 1% overlap of those groups (which is very unlikely as early adopter/tester types tend to want to talk about it), that would make for at least 1 million Twitter clients for Win8 being "necessary" to fill the market.  So, um, the sales only managed about 100,000, or a tenth of that potential market....

Now on one hand, that says that this is a "killer app" that has been the stuff of legend for decades, and forms a good business case.  However, a healthy dose of a reality check has proven time and again that the "killer app" is so rare that even the most rabid VC won’t pony-up cash unless they are looking for a tax write-off !

Microsoft *should* know that for a healthy OS, you need good, usable and *needed* applications.  After all, that is one of the key points that has kept Linux (as a viable desktop) at bay for over a decade.  So what they are *REALLY* saying is that they recognise that nothing in the Windows application market currently will look any good or work properly with their shiny new OS and now (finally) they are in damage control trying to get some apps ready for the release.  After all, who will buy a Win8-entombed desktop if nothing works right on it ?

Microsoft urges devs to 'lead Windows 8 app land grab' (The Register)

Just when the stupidity of this seemed to have peaked, today's newsfeed contained another gem.

This time a "UI evangelist" touting the new interface as being a good thing and (in essence) saying that developers are the problem.

Now this guy is not your average marketing idiot, he does recognise a pigs ear when he sees one, so he made a comment that will undoubtedly come back to haunt Microsloth in the months ahead;

"Business apps, he said may not work in this context, with more familiar icon-driven UI elements still available for apps that just won't fit into TIFKAM's design paradigm."

Right, so the real bread-n-butter of the desktop PC market is likely to find the Metro/Win8 interface unworkable.  Let's say that word again, "unworkable".

Information is the UI in Windows 8, says design guru (The Register)

Don't get me wrong, I'd *like* to see a UI that works as seamlessly as the SciFi style interfaces (think Star Trek or Babylon 5).  I'd *like* to have a programming language that apparently doesn't need a keyboard AT ALL (thinks of Scottie's classic comment when presented with a mouse, "how quiaint").  I'd *like* AI that doesn't turn into SkyNet and try and eliminate the invasive parasite that has infected the planet.... but seriously, a paradigm change does not take place over night and you can NOT just take your near-monopoly position and FORCE everyone to adopt it "just because they have no choice".  Ignoring the socio-political rants that could stem from that line of thought, Microsoft has already been slapped down by a totally retarded attempt to FORCE users to do something, it was called "Vista", and business users skipped "that upgrade" en-masse.

Contrary to some of the gaming press, I'm not so sure that Win8 is so dire in that sub-segment of the desktop market. The bulk of gamers may be perverse genetic freak variations of "Power Users", but ultimately, they tend mostly to use one HUGE full screen single interface, so this may be almost unnoticed by a lot of them unless they tend towards "windowed mode" (and we won't talk about why they feel the need for that configuration will we...).

The Myth of Control

Freedom is an interesting concept. Freedom to live the lifestyle you choose. Freedom of religious belief. Freedom of speech. The list can be quite extensive, even tedious.

Freedom from being a serf, peon or slave is something of a universal desire crossing many boundaries of culture, race and faith.

This will seem like a diversion into The Twilight Zone, but how far do you trust your government ?  Not the greedy, self-righteous, self-serving cretins that we inevitably vote for called "politicians".  No, the real government. The multitude of largely faceless, bureaucrats who advise and implement government policy.  The self-same collective within whose ranks lobbyists find willing ears (and pockets) to grease the wheels of government towards some corporate or other pressure group's agenda.

If you have been fortunate to live in a democracy, throughout your life you will have been told that "government is elected by the people" and that the politicians are "servants of the nation". What utter tripe! In an idealized democracy described in books, that may well be the case. Regrettably for the real world; political campaigns cost money, lobbyist's cost money, advertising campaigns designed to sway public opinion cost money, and most importantly, "government" costs money.

So what is this apparent rant about ?  The progressive erosion of YOUR rights by pressure groups whose agenda have nothing to do with your freedoms and everything to do with grabs for money and power.

To avoid litigation, I'll steer clear of the core that drove me to write this since the group in question have far more money than morals and less scruples than is safe to publicly question. Let's keep this hypothetical since it will serve as well as the current concrete issues.

There is a belief within the circles of those currently in positions of extreme power that controlling what the public can and can not do is in everybody's best interest. Indeed, they would go so far as to claim that YOUR right to do what you will with products you purchased with your own money is outweighed by THEIR right to specify most of the terms under which you may use it. From tools to toys to movies and music, restrictive controls are being placed that do not serve either the original creators or the legitimate users. The only beneficiaries are those who sit in the middle making money while adding little or no value.

The theory runs that this continued tightening of controls is for our own good; be they airport scanners, GPS in phones, warrantless wire-taps, smart-chips in passes and cards or even simple statistical collection of your online shopping habits.

Fine, but where's the "opt out" option ?  Increasingly, there is not one available. Some of the controls are not even transparent, nor are the records on YOUR activities available for you to review. That is of course assuming you even know that it is being done or sometimes more importantly, by whom ?

Control is important.  You would not fly in a plane that had little or no controls.  A microwave oven would be potentially lethal with no controls.  This post would not be viewable without controls.

Too much control however is quite patently bad, especially if it is done in a ham-fisted manner.

There is an old saying about love that runs; "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it is truly yours. If it doesn't, it never was."  The point is much like many other analogies; the tighter you grasp some things, the harder they are to hold on to.  From eels to dreams, the result is much the same.

An interesting comment was made some time back about revolutions. Trying to squash them by force is ultimately doomed to failure. Some things will be free. You may kill a hundred or a million, but eventually oppressive regimes fall.

A favorite quote of mine is "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance" and a more disturbing cousin "when repression becomes Law, rebellion becomes duty". Both are frequently misquoted (I may even have mistyped here), but the message is clear.

Those who would be our masters are steadily eroding our rights in the name of Law and claiming to do so to protect us. Across the globe we see new sections written into Law that effectively remove YOUR rights. We do not have to look to the Third World for would-be dictators, politicians with similar aspirations in all but name are in our parliaments and other governing bodies. Right to freedom of association, limited. Right to public assembly, limited. Right to withhold your labour in protest, revoked. Right to trial by a jury of your peers, limited and in some cases revoked.

At the same time, those in power who seek more controls to be placed on "we the people" get them with almost no debate or opposition in the corridors of power.

History is a harsh and implacable teacher.  At every turn in recorded history where the general populace get pushed into a corner, whipped and told to like it, they do what even the lowliest cur in the street would do, they bite back. Sadly, when they do, many innocents suffer while the true guilty parties make deals to avoid any form of punishment.

So the wheel will turn.... but who will it crush in the relentless strivings of those who wish to control "we the people" and when the the pendulum swings the other way as "we the people" make a break for freedom ?

When noise becomes music

For all the decades of recorded music, members of each generation have at some point famously described the next generation's music as "noise".  The phase varies as does the context, but the word persists.

The first time people heard some of the early sounds of "industrial metal', I know that many would have been amazed that some of the most brilliant and gifted composers and performers of the art were classically trained. Some of the best of various sub-genres in metal have been trained in classical styles; from classical piano to opera, and guitar to percussion. The past has aided, even seeded the future.

Now to the point.  Anyone who has followed Linkin Park's evolution will recognise the fusion that is typical of the band's sound which is as unique as Chester's vocals.  There has always been an edge to their sound.

Distortion has frequently been a prominent part of music since the first electric guitar screeched into life. LP have a history of making synth sounds that are reminiscent of the noise between stations on an old AM radio. That is not a bad thing.  It works.

Since their latest album arrived, I've been amazed by one thing.  No, not the "noise" or the "distortion". The amazing thing is how it demands premium audio equipment.

Every artist deserves to have their art shown or heard in the way they intended. In fact, some art loses so much by poor delivery that it could almost be dismissed as a waste.  Cruel and unfair, but so is life.  LP's new collection of songs really sound dreadful on cheaper equipment.  Even mid-range gear sounds scratchy and irritating.

At first I thought my CD was faulty or a new generation of quality-destroying DRM was incompatible with my equipment.  Playing it on premium headphones and speakers however disabused me of that notion. No, this was LP as they intended to be heard and it is as magic as their earlier offerings, although I still think Hybrid Theory stands out as a classic "how do we create a follow-up for this?!?!" moment in musical history.

The lessons and questions this raise are disturbing. Avoiding litigation, I'll resist naming (and shaming) any specific vendors of portable noise gear, but suffice to say that anything less than a lossless digital copy would be worse than a waste of everybody's time. It would be a crime against the music.  This is one piece of musical history that may emphasize the merits of analogue over digital media. I'll forego the lecture on sampling and loss (even in "lossless" formats) of precision in the recording, but suspect that this is an album that really needs a vinyl version to fully appreciate it.

Returning to the headline topic, it is staggering how much of the distortion used on this album overwhelms less-than-premium audio equipment by failing to render the finer points of the music. You want to listen to LP's latest album ?  Advice, don't skimp on the gear you use!

Transitions for the lazy user....

Inertia or laziness.... both apparently can be overcome by the threat of the imminent demise of something you would rather keep....

Welcome to The Unenlightened Oracle's rebirth (courtesy of Google's *nudge* to transfer my old Blogger.com account).

For those who have been receiving emails, I'll spare you long diatribes in future and post the interminable trivia I dig up and unutterable inanities that pass for brainspasms.  Instead, I'll just flick a link when the blog is updated.... (don't hold your breath.... those of you who know me well, know it is a classic "feast or famine" scenario!)

Damn the torpedoes! Full spam ahead !!

Linspire (the distro previously known as Lindows)

Now, some (like the author of the article) might say that paying for a Linux distro and paying for ongoing access to a download solution for that distro is somehow a "bad thing". I would point out to these people that SuSe and RedHat are both charging for "free" stuff in one way or another, and while many would deem DeadRat a pariah, they seem fine with SuSe charging for their distro. This isn't about a holy war people, these companies are all in business to make money. Some just are being a tad more up front about how and what you are paying for.

That aside, I couldn't help but have a serious chuckle at this quote... ;-)

"A friendly Linux that keeps reaching for your wallet."




"Linspire Linux with strings attached" -- LinuxWorld


Linspire

HP severs decade-long codevelopment alliance with Intel

Of course, that's not quite how the players put it in their press releases... amazing how they can put a positive spin on what is essentially a "distancing" of themselves from the ailing Itanic and it's never ending stream of red-ink.... the obvious key points to note are the comment "Terms of the agreement were not disclosed" and the fact that despite the up-beat press release, if HP really believed in the chip's future, would they be selling off the design division to Intel and paying ($3bn) for the privilege of divesting themselves of said division ?

The pro-Itanic crowd would say that this is simply a recognition that Intel are the silicon company and HP are the systems company... but that's only because that's the load of tripe that Fiorina (HP's CEO) has been feeding the masses since the ill-conceived takeover/merger with Compaq.

Intel Strengthens Investment In Intel® Itanium® Architecture With Hiring Of HP

HP Extends Commitment to Itanium 2-based Integrity Server Leadership, Invests $3 Billion Over Three Years

Of course, that's just my take on it.... ;-)

Barry Trotter & The Shameless Parody.

ELX.com.au (Australia) - Barry Trotter & The Shameless Parody (Paperback), Michael Gerber - ISBN 0143002880
This has all the hallmarks of something so funny it's almost tragic ! ;-)

Evil Dead, The - Collector's Edition on DVD.... buy it before they screw it up !

Evil Dead, The - Collector's Edition
Ok, we all know the classic Evil Dead, but you might want to buy a copy on DVD when the new release comes out in December.... before they screw it up royally with a remake !

Sure, they might get it right and they might even make it better, but it won't be the classic we all know and loved (?) will it !?!?!

The US govt sees freedom of speech on the internet as a real threat to the president ?

a word to the wise
I'd actually have to be LESS paranoid to be as paranoid as the writer appears to have become (not that I'd blame them).

Let's just say that I have known about both the Echelon project and the FBI's reach into Australia (and any other ally of the US) for a long time (think decade plus), so unless you haven't been paying attention you would have noticed that I make no posts (or even emails) of a potentially "risky" (in the context of this conversation) nature. In fact, you should have noticed that I may *say* certain things, but I never put them into print myself, rather I quote or link the writings of others. It is a rare occasion when I cannot find somebody to quote, so I have only ever once had to publish something myself. Maybe less than courageous, but probably prudent since anonymity on the 'net is a myth.

For the record, I have been advised that from a legal perspective, the disclaimer "we are not responsible for the posts of others on this site" (or words to that effect) is not a "get out of jail free" card and you can in fact be prosecuted in the US and extradited from Oz if it's bad enough, or prosecuted here if you fail to remove the offending post on FIRST notification from the Oz police (which may just be a phone call, so be aware).

The moral of the story is that post 911, we do NOT live in a totally free society and that Thomas Jefferson's quotation "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance" is more apt than ever. Note that you will have heard me say on many occasions that we have a "legal system", not a "justice system".... he with the deepest pockets usually wins. If you doubt of the lengths to which the US government may go to do things to a close ally, have a read of the history of the downfall of the Whitlam government in the 1970s after the arrest of Christopher Boyce....

For any law enforcement agencies out there, no, I don't advocate anything except the exercise of our democratic right to vote bad governments out of office and the right to express our displeasure in their failings of us the voting public in peaceful protest or print. ok?

Horsepower..... drool

ATI jumps on the AMD Athlon64 wagon
Nice toy.... now all we've gotta watch for is for the nice people at Alienware to pick it up and run with it... of course then I won't be able to afford it!

"The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" (a sequel to Morrowind)

Bethesda Softworks Announces The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Ok, well only RPG game freaks will be interested, but with the release of Blizzard's World of Warcraft announced for 23rd November, we're all gonna need something late next year when we've finally conquered WoW (yeah, I know, "as if"!).
But still, with the very artistic and stylish presentation of Morrowind, expectations for Bethesda's next generation game will be high. The screen shots look very promising.

Teleportation and commuting

USAF investigating teleportation Ya gotta wonder... if any of the theories did pan out, then wouldn't that kinda make a dent in the whole commuting thing ?
So along with all the other technologies that would reduce dependency on fossil fuels.... can ya see what I'm hinting at ?

Welcome to the Lost Oracle's Blog

Diary of a baby : "Day 1. Tired after the big move".