Expressive Opposition

The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Social Disobedience

Almost every other day now they announce on the news, “gas has reached a new record high price.” High volume SUV producer, General Motors, shares has dropped to a 53-year low. New and used car dealers can barely sell an SUV, even with 0% financing and other incentives. GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner is crying to the press, when at the end of the day, it was his decision to ramp up SUV production and go for the “get rich quick, yet the heck with the environment and safety of other drivers” business methodology that has landed him in a big pile of big SUVs even half-smart people no longer want. In light of the old adage “what goes around, comes around,” being proven once again, many environmentalists now feel it may be an appropriate to take a brief moment and, very subtly, gloat.
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In keeping with our eBay reporting, there’s more news on the Internet auction evil empire. Due to their inability, or unwillingness to provide sufficient staff for customer support, eBay established public forums for buyers and sellers to ask questions, get advice, and learn about procedures or new policies on eBay. However, the shocking reality to poor average eBayers is that when they ask innocent questions, they are treated with brutal smugness, insults, and belittled by the very moderators and so called expert users that are supposed to be there to help. There is something rotten at the very core of every aspect of customer service that manifests with a strong stench all about ebay.com.

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There are problems with the popular Internet auction site eBay in which most users are aware. There are dishonest practices used by sellers, which exploit shortcomings in the auction system that eBay just overlooks. But there are also holes in the eBay site software that allow concrete forms of consumer fraud, which could easily be amended by eBay. Those holes pose clear liability on eBay’s part and it is time someone pulled the trigger and forced eBay to clean up their act! Because, when you’re the only game in town for auction sites, you just don’t seem to care whether the customer is getting screwed as long as you’re cashing in.

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As if Russia doesn’t already have enough environmental issues on its own, now a big United States corporation is offering to give’em some more. General Motors broke ground on its first fully owned plant in Russia where they intend on making Russian built Chevy SUVs. GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko stuck spades through a hole in the floor of a blue-and-white tent and shoveled dirt at the site of the new plant in a sandy field in Shushary, on the southern outskirts of St. Petersburg. GM sees opportunity to exploit the fast growing oil rich country by giving them big fat gas guzzling SUVs.

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Despite belief in individual freedom and faith in a capitalistic system, many Libertarians are also “green.” There is an awareness of the environmental devastation caused by mankind. It cannot be ignored. Understanding that corporate responsibility in a capitalistic system is necessary to preserve our planet for future generations is critical. Consumers can most effectively make it happen. When an auto manufacturer takes a leadership role in low emissions, fuel economy, and hybrid technology, everyone wins. That is why it is so disgraceful when Toyota, in claiming to be an environmental leader, is caught lying. Their true agenda has been revealed, and it doesn’t look good for mother Earth or consumer freedom based on facts.

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Once again Linux Torvalds has proven he is a complete schmuck. For the newly drafted General Public License provisions address the issue of a dark and evil technology becoming ever more pervasive in our industry, DRM. In his wisdom Stallman has addressed this in GPL version 3. Linus, who has demonstrated his corporate sellout hypocrisy in the past, such as when he chastised the creator of Samba, again sides with corporate greed and against the traditional core values of his own baby, Linux. It’s time for someone to fork the Linux kernel and take it away from the now corrupted Linux Torvalds.

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I’ve always preferred an a la carte model for cable and satellite channel subscriptions, picking and paying only for those channels I want, even if it means paying more per channel. Apparently, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin agrees and plans to release an FCC report which concludes that offering TV programming a la carte is economically feasible and in the best interest of consumers. Greedy cable and satellite providers have always resisted the pick and choose option for customers forcing them to purchase packages containing many channels the customers do not want.

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It is now estimated that the Sony DRM rootkit virus has infected over 500,000 networks. Among the music CD’s that are spreading the virus is Neil Diamond’s latest release. So artists like Neil Diamond need to stop and think for a moment, “What will my loyal fans think when they play my music on their computer and suddenly they have a serious problem?” No matter who the artist is, I would consider holding them responsible along with Sony BMG. Artist, agent, over paid staff alike, someone should be thinking about the implications of screwing with the fans this way.

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Sony’s heavy-handed DRM (Digital Rights Management) is an infringement on Consumer Rights. Playing a Sony BMG music CD on your computer, Mac or PC, can make you a Sony hater too! Several groups in several places are now suing Sony over their DRM rootkit. New viruses in the wild are using the Sony DRM rootkit and as a result, at least one anti-virus software company has released a tool for exposing the rootkit. Macintosh users are not immune to the Sony DRM rootkit issue. Sony has really crossed the line by screwing up people’s computers. Perhaps it is time for a massive, united consumer boycott of all Sony products.

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Former Apple employee and faithful music buying blogger wrote today about DRM on his site, “Writers Block Live.” His decision reflects the actions of a growing number of consumers. It is apparent that the tighter the industry’s grip, the more consumers slip though their fingers. I am talking about consumers that have been purchasing legal music for many years. Many may recalled that time when his or her downloaded mp3 collection overtook the legally acquired music. When superimposed over the industry’s greed, they will be proportional. The compromise (for the industry) is to accept the reasonably small portion of pirates and take care the mainstream, legal consumers. Take care of the fans, and you take care of the artists. Stunts like the Sony rootkit and busting 14-year-old P2P file swappers gives the industry a black eye and drives further pirating now not of need, but of idealism. When evil is legal, no one want to obey the law.