Sticks and Stones

There are two very important reasons why the entire tech industry got HD-DVD completely wrong. One, as Lawrence Lessig and Cory Doctorow ought to be advocates of, is HD-DVD not having region coding or as much DRM as Blu-ray. The second, which the entire Wall Street Journal editorial board should support is the fact that variety is the spice of life. Oh, no, I meant that competition is the seed for all that is good and wonderful in our laissez-faire economic system.

The tech industry got HD-DVD so wrong because, unlike Blu-ray, HD-DVD had no region coding and had less restrictive DRM. This is important because consumers like you and me are sick of being dictated to about how we use our content. The VCR allowed us more freedom, as did the CD burner. Complicated codecs (Apple’s .m4p) and software restrictions (iPod usage limitations) severely hamper what we can do with the music we paid for.

Amazon’s MP3 store has gone a long way towards rectifying this situation but DRM on video remains as absurdly limiting as ever. iSquint, HandBrake, VLC, and so on exist just to help you untangle your content from their manacles. Why is it so hard?! HD-DVD did not have as complicated a DRM system as Blu-ray and for that reason we should have all been trumpeting it as the next generation product.

We should allow the market to operate on its own free from regulation and allow it to fight monopolistic tendencies. It is controversial to argue for more than one optical format, because the response will be that it complicates matters, forces a higher cost on the consumer by requiring her to buy two players, and complicate the lives of average citizens staring at stacks of competing players at CompUSA.

It may seem illogical to argue that competing formats is good for the consumer, but the opposite is true. When two similar goods square off the result is a bitter fight to the death with equally split market share. Using the example of colas, every time Pepsi lowers the price, Coca-Cola must follow suit. If Pepsi increased the quality of its product, Coca-Cola would have to scramble to match the new standard. In this way, Blu-ray and HD-DVD would have squared off and fought bitterly for our dollars. They would have increased quality, lowered prices, and packed in more features to beat the other for that precious penny.

All that is left is one player in a lucrative market. Yes, in ten years we will all download music and video from iTunes or Amazon or maybe even a resurgent Napster, but today Sony is grinning. It can riddle its product with copy protection, region coding, and restrictive DRM. Geeks/nerds/techies should be disappointed. Sony can also price its players and discs however it wishes, control production numbers to throttle output, and pay its employees whatever it likes. Economists should be disappointed. From whatever angle you approach the issue, I believe you too should be disappointed. Unless you work at Sony.

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In August 2001 I stood at the top of the World Trade Center. It was a moment I remember because it was an exhilarating experience: being so high up, gazing down at New York. The city looked so peaceful and likeable so when I came home just two weeks after returning from the USA and turned on CNN I was horrified by what I saw. Like a newly appalled America I wondered ‘Why?!’ I wanted to know why Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Osama Bin Laden thought it was their duty from Allah to murder 2,974 people. Dad has always been hostile to religion; he wrote in support of Rushdie after the fatwa was issued, and Mom was a pacifist Buddhist: so the idea of peace being fundamental to religion seemed normal to me. But we all saw something very different on that Tuesday morning; and now we find that not only are individuals and groups intent on destroying the West, but whole countries. So once again we must ask: Why?

With the exception of Judaism, every religion says that scripture, revelation, and religious experiences should determine what laws we live under. Examples of this include the Ten Commandments in Christianity and the Pancasila in Buddhism. Considering God is believed to be the ultimate perfection, there should be no issue with using his commandments to govern the world because they are words of an omniscient and omnibenevolent being. We all agree that we should not murder, or steal, or commit adultery. So it appears there is no moral conflict between what we believe to be morally good and what is written in holy texts.

However, despite the fact that most of the edicts presented to us make appear morally sound and therefore corroborate our own moral sensibilities, many appear to be entirely immoral. Exodus 12:29 ‘At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt.’ If we read this as literally the action of God, the inherent immorality of it causes concern. Why should we allow a God who slays innocent boys and animals for the crime of the Pharaoh, to be involved in our self-governance? When concerned with our penal system, 1 Samuel 15:3 offers ruthless indiscriminate murder as punishment for wrongdoing; often seeing the sin of one man in a tribe as the sin of the entire tribe.

To read more of this essay, click here.

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Porsche has decided it will fight London Mayor Ken Livingstone’s increased Congestion Charge in court if necessary. Pitting itself against ‘Red Ken’, the most profitable automaker in the world has very vocally issued criticism of the new, increased price for driving into central London. The new charge is £25 per day for higher-emissions vehicles like Porsches.

Porsche joins the U.S. Embassy, several African High Commissions, and many of the writers here at Sticks and Stones in vehement opposition to Congestion Charging. I hate it because it makes travelling ludicrously expensive, and the alternative: public transport, is in no way affordable either. James hates it because it is prejudiced against the poor who cannot afford expensive cars like the Toyota Prius. Read his riposte of the increased Charge.

I hasten to point out the glaring hypocrisy of the plan: it rewards hybrid vehicles along with frugal small cars like the Renault Twingo. Lexus have added a few cells into their expensive and luxurious vehicles so as to make them ‘green’. The hypocrisy lies in the fact that despite the hybrid power-train (sourced from the not-so-green-itself Prius) the Lexus LS600h and RX400h emit nearly as much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as the non-hybrid models.

If the Congestion Charge allows these polluting Lexus LSs and RXs into London because somewhere amongst the V8 engines is a battery pack, why should Porsche owners pay to enter central London? The Lexus LS600h sinfully manages only 11 MPG while the Porsche 911 Turbo boasts 19.8 MPG.

Andy Goss, the Managing Director of Porsche Cars GB, rejects the tax as unjust. The automaker claims it is a disproportionate fee that will have a very limited effect on CO2 emissions. In the clearest terms possible: the Lexus pollutes more, consumes more petrol, and weighs more, but goes free. The Porsche pollutes less, consumes less petrol, weighs less but will cost £25 per day ($50) to drive into London.

Update: Porsche has set up a website detailing its argument, the procedure it wishes to implement for addressing the new Charge, and a page to fill out to register your support. I’ve already signed up.

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It’s a weird graphic. A pyramid, an eye, the number thirteen. The iconography looks like it could originate from all sorts of places. It certainly doesn’t fit in with the pomp and glamour of other American insignia. In fact it looks fairly creepy. That eye is daunting, the pyramid is unfinished and yet already has weeds growing under it, and then the number thirteen which we all know to have many historical and sinister connotations.

Other American emblems are full of the grandeur expected of the world’s dominant power, and of an incredibly idealistic (in the very best sense of the word) young nation. The soaring eagle, strong bold colours, stars and stripes all indicate the vigour and idealism which epitomise the American way of life. On the other hand, there is the Great Seal which looks ancient, secretive, and malevolent.

From the International Herald Tribune:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Seal’s 66th and current custodian, on Tuesday inaugurated a new exhibition to commemorate its 225th birthday and trace the history and evolution of the symbolism.

“This exhibit honoring the Great Seal affirms our continued belief in the values of our founding,” she said. “The Great Seal symbolizes the unity, strength and independence of a new nation, the United States of America.”

Debunking some of the conspiracy theories:

1. Masons (including Washington and Franklin) did not design the seal.
2. It’s design can be summarised as such: it uses elements of traditional heraldry, such as the unfinished pyramid to symbolize a work in progress, arrows for war and an olive branch for peace.
3. The 13 does not refer to Judas, but to the 13 colonies. Like the 13 stripes in the flag.
4. The two latin phrases “Novus Ordo Seculorum” and “Annuit Coeptis” are not as sinister as ‘New World Order’ and ‘Chosen ones’ but ‘A New Order for the Ages’ and ‘Providence favours’ suggesting democracy and peoples’ sovereignty overcoming tyranny.

Whether you believe these explanations is up to you.

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Some of the earliest civilisations grew up in Mesopotamia, between the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, which run through Iraq. Neighbouring Iran has its fair share of ancient history; Persepolis - the great city of the Persians is in south central Iran and is dramatically different to the image President Bush portrays of the country.

Modern Iran is caricatured as an evil state, menacingly stockpiling nuclear weapons to assault Israel and Europe. While the Iranian government should be seen this way, the Iranian people should not.

Like many populations ruled by despotic governments, the people of Iran should not have their name sullied by the actions a government imposed upon them.

James Vlahos of National Geographic took advantage of a new Iranian initiative to welcome tourists - even Americans - to learn about the real Iran. It’s a brilliant way to counter the propaganda from the US.

He visited Persepolis and Esfahan, the latter being an extraordinarily beautiful city. More Casablanca than Syriana. In Esfahan he chatted with locals, explored beautiful and ancient Mosques, and witnessed the real change happening in Iran today: his guide Maziar Rahimi spoke to him of “The young women wearing their scarves far back and more makeup. Change is coming.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains a serious threat to global security. His nuclear weapons program is not only real but must be halted immediately. However, that does not mean blowing up the parts of Iran James Vlahos visited. We already know of Humvees rampaging through ancient Iraqi towns and the rampant looting in Baghdad. This is what we must avoid. These countries are led by evil men, but they themselves are not evil. An hour speaking with Vahid Mousavifard, an ordinary citizen, an example of the real Iran, would make this plainly clear to all who deign to find out.

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