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The conflict of interest that is Google
IainB:
@mouser: I wondered about that too, when it popped into my bazqux feed-reader, and I assumed that, given what has been commented above in this thread, none of this should really come as a surprise to us.
Eric Schmidt and his colleagues are up there in the stratosphere, maximising profits, pulling the strings, out of our reach, and as a corporate legal entity are arguably in a politically, legally and economically vastly superior and dominant position compared to our lesser legal entities and whatever residual "legal rights" we might amusingly imagine ourselves to have.
Google is a great corporation.
If the perceived problem here is "anti-competitve behaviour", or something, then the likely/apparent causal problem is that Capitalism (the economic dogma of capitalism) encourages/necessitates profit-seeking strategies and "competition" often to the exclusion of considerations of moral, ethical, or legal obligations. It's a never-ending game to "play the system", and if one is successful at it, it creates wealth out of thin air (usually with no productive effort/result).
When we use the Internet, we are generally the product (or our data is) and the puppets in this game, and we pay for the privilege to enter into and play in the game (wittingly or otherwise).
Google is a leader, part of an oligopoly - if it isn't a monopoly - and can probably do whatever the heck it wants, with impunity.
Unfortunately, when one tries to address the apparent causal problem (i.e., Capitalism), one runs smack into the brick wall that other economic ideologies seem to have done - e.g., the Communist/Socialist "command economy" system.
So, Google apparently used their position to gain an unfair advantage, eh?
Oh dear, what a pity, never mind.
Google is a great corporation.
IainB:
Just stumbled upon this as a good example of this sort of thing:
“Wall Street Firm Develops New High-Speed Algorithm Capable Of Performing Over 10,000 Ethical Violations Per Second”
mouser:
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
nice find.
J-Mac:
That's rich!
Actually, while it is funny as hell, the Onion's usual tinge of truth makes it just a little painful to laugh much at it. And so my abject hate of all things Goldman Sachs grows ever stronger!
Thanks.
Jim
Renegade:
From slashdot:
...
from: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/15/03/20/1639215/ftc-google-altered-search-results-for-profit
-mouser (March 20, 2015, 10:31 PM)
--- End quote ---
I'm glad someone posted it.
Google is a leader, part of an oligopoly - if it isn't a monopoly - and can probably do whatever the heck it wants, with impunity.
Unfortunately, when one tries to address the apparent causal problem (i.e., Capitalism), one runs smack into the brick wall that other economic ideologies seem to have done - e.g., the Communist/Socialist "command economy" system.
-IainB (March 21, 2015, 12:28 AM)
--- End quote ---
One thing that drives me up the wall is "capitalism". Google is in bed with the state everywhere, and what they do can hardly be called "capitalism" if one believes that "capitalism" means free markets. It's a twisted form of fascism, which is at least better than communism/socialism in some ways, but still degenerate.
Just stumbled upon this as a good example of this sort of thing:
“Wall Street Firm Develops New High-Speed Algorithm Capable Of Performing Over 10,000 Ethical Violations Per Second”
-IainB (March 21, 2015, 01:47 AM)
--- End quote ---
Sadly, it's not far from the truth. :(
That's rich!
Actually, while it is funny as hell, the Onion's usual tinge of truth makes it just a little painful to laugh much at it. And so my abject hate of all things Goldman Sachs grows ever stronger!
-J-Mac (March 21, 2015, 06:14 AM)
--- End quote ---
The Onion is less fake news than prediction. You can literally go back and look at older articles, then go ahead a few years and see it in reality. It's sad. :(
Spain taxed the sun. The sun. Taxed it. Really. Not a joke. Not fake. Spain really in reality taxes the sun.
Can you imagine this in a title from The Onion?
In a Response to Spain Taxing the Sun, Italy Taxes Shadows
--- End quote ---
Yes - it would seem like insanity. But it's true. Italy is now taxing shadows. In reality. For realz. No joke.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-20/italy-theyre-now-taxing-shadows
As Italian newspaper Leggo reports, store owners in Conegliano are now faced with the unfortunate (albeit comically absurd) proposition of paying taxes on shadows.
The rationale appears to go something like this: an awning casts a shadow on public property and therefore you must pay to use that property.
--- End quote ---
The really screwed up thing here is that the sun actually wears down materials (in this case sidewalks), and shading them preserves them. So, if anything, the "tax" should be in reverse.
So, for Google and the FCC, this isn't much of a surprise. There's nothing that's beyond belief.
Google has some great services, but... FFS... They need to clean up a bit.
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