- September 15, 2009 7:02 am
In an off the record interview with CNBC, an ABC reporter, Terry Moran tweeted:”Pres. Obama just called Kanye West a “jackass” for his outburst at VMAs when Taylor Swift won. Now THAT’S presidential.” The tweet was quickly deleted. However, Twitter caches all tweets and doesn’t delete deleted tweets from said cache immediately. Now, many will look at the issue on the surface — that is, that a tweet supposedly quoting the President of the United States was yanked probably due to decency concerns or whatnot. However, it goes much deeper. The interview that this tweet was supposedly stemming from was an “off the record…behind closed doors” type of ordeal. The tweet made public a very private event. This isn’t the first time tweeting individuals have found themselves in hot water or situations because of potentially sensitive information becoming public. Of course, Kanye West is a jackass and completely talentless, though that’s besides the point. The real point is the fact that whether by force from ABC, CNBC, or some government branch, the tweet was taken down.
Why? Was any harm done? A talentless “musician” was called out for a complete lack of judgement a night earlier. Hardly an affront to national security if you ask me. Still, another instance of apparent censoring shows its face. From NFL players and referees to various other areas of professional careers, Twitter is quickly becoming a problem. And now, Presidential reporters could be the latest to come under fire for using the popular micro-blogging service. ABC has since apologized though it puzzles me as to why or what. Ok, an apology for tweeting a quote taken from an off the record, behind closed doors interview is grounds for an apology and against many rules set in place. But for any other reason I fail to see the need. In fact, having a person as important as the President of the United States calling you a “jackass” certainly carries some weight.
The crackdown on tweeting and spreading “inside” information is setting a very unsettling view of what the future holds. Again, while more serious consequences can come forth from such tweets, something as trivial as Obama calling a “musician” a jackass is hardly significant. Is censorship gaining a silent traction or is it just another instance of an extreme case getting blown out of proportion?
**Update**
Audio now up:
Obama’s Kanye West Jackass remark
Source: Mashable
Just because I can! To hell with Yahoo and Flickr! You may or may not know the controversy surrounding the whole Obama/Joker image and the removal of said image from Flickr. The last couple of days has seen an outpouring of angered individuals across the internet accusing Yahoo and Flickr of trying to sensor the internet and such. Yahoo has rebutted with a DMCA violation take-down notice they received saying that they cherish free speech but the law made them do it. But did they really? Why wasn’t a similar notice filed for the Jokerized image of Bush? Such double standards make one curious. Yahoo further added that any individual with a side of beef can file a counterclaim themselves. Wow. Way to rollover. Here’s a crazy idea…grow some balls people and stand up for yourself and your rights! If every company and individual was as spineless as Yahoo/Flickr God help us. Censorship is something that we usually hear about occurring outside of the US. But now it is coming from within.
The utter useless horseshit that is the DMCA is quickly killing any shred of common sense and fair use across the internet. DMCA notices are being unleashed in a flood to users all across the internet all over the world. Often times, such as the case with the Obama/Joker picture, the DMCA accusations are being grossly misused. The last couple of years copyright laws, policies, and DMCA non-sense has escalated to alarming levels. What does the future hold for us? Now I’m not trying to drum up fear and drama to get another post done. It is a legitimate concern. Now that the sensor/DMCA abuse ball is rolling, how/when is it going to stop? How about another dose of fair use and free speech! (See below)
Either way you look at it, either the DMCA and “copyright violation” are being abused, or we’re seeing the beginning of censorship. Which is it?
*I realize that Obama portrayed as the joker and the word socialism don’t go together (as noted by Tech Crunch) as the joker in his true form is an anarchist…still…the larger issue remains*
Source:TechCrunch, LA Times
When you hear the words “Cybersecurity Czar”, what do you think of? Do you think of some nice older guy sitting at a computer desk sifting through countless emails and stack of paper? Or, do you think of some greedy lifelong politician who cares more for his pocket than the outcome of his decisions? Both are possibilities with Obama’s suspected latest creation at the White House – a Cybersecurity Czar.
Throughout Obama’s campaign, he and his supporters used technology extensively in their promotions, everything from email, social networking sites such as Facebook, to SMS/text messages. They are by far the biggest user of technology ever in a presidential election. So you can understand their complete and utter shock when they realized just how low tech and outdated the White House really is.
The vigilant fight Obama is putting up to keep his Blackberry looks bleaker everyday that passes. Gizmodo has supposedly received images of one of the several “approved” presidential smartphones. Sadly it is running WinMo 6.1 inside of a housing that looks like it was made in 1980. It is comical to look at and imagine someone using it as an actual phone and not a more obvious tool such as….a paperweight. Now onto the hardcore specs: CDMA/GSM capable, various classified/unclassified buttons and ports and security so tight….*insert witty comment here*. I don’t recall ever seeing any other president tote around this monstrosity and by the looks of it, and by the looks of it I don’t blame them. Godspeed Mr. Obama. It’s going to be a long 4 years toting that thing around.
Source: Gizmodo, Cnet
