Wed, 28 Jul 2004

Forcing Telcos to Give Blood

Calls for regulations to force number portability on large telecommunication companies surprise Libertarianz spokesman Andrew Bates, who asks why the enslavement should stop there.

"Number portability would require telcos to invest management time and money solving a complex engineering problem - and add another permanent layer of technological complexity to their call routing management systems - all so the sacred consumer could drop their service more readily," observes Bates.

"Well, why stop there?" he asks. "Forcing telco employees and shareholders to give blood would boost blood stocks and benefit the public while only costing these people time and a little convenience! And community service could see a lot of good work done for the community without killing telco shareholders or employees. Perhaps we could have telco employees cleaning up roadside rubbish? Or removing graffiti?"

Taking a more serious tone, Mr Bates blamed an anti-business culture for allowing these calls, a culture he says which should be challenged. "If New Zealanders want a free society where businesses flourish and individuals prosper, we must reject the bludgers' short-sighted mentality and uphold property rights as sacred - including those of the telcos."

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>