It's not nice to call for assassinating an American president (it's also against the law in the U.S. to do it) or urging the financing thereof, as Norwegian rap trio Gatas Parliament learned the hard way. Norwegian police shut down the site, and the U.S. Embassy in Oslo has filed charges against the trio. "I think it's fairly obvious to everyone not working at the American embassy or in the police that this was not about killing anyone," said group member Aslak Borgersrud. "The Web site is a political campaign."
Not according to the Norwegian police, who said the site was pulled for violating the country’s harassment laws. The trio faces fines or jail up to two years for their satire, which was replaced post haste by a copy of the police fax explaining and okaying the takedown. No comment was sought, apparently, as to whether Gatas Parliament would have called for financing a presidential assassination if John Kerry had won the White House….
Cingular Wireless's buy of AT&T Wireless has lost its last obstacle, with the U.S. Department of Justice giving the deal the go-for-it with a few compromises involved. Those compromises include AT&T Wireless getting out of the cell business entirely in Oklahoma City, selling off cellular spectrum in 10 other states and in Dallas, Detroit, and Knoxville (Tennessee), and selling off minority interests in parts of Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Missouri.
The deal creates the largest cell phone service carrier in the United States, to be called Cingular Wireless LLC – but it also means hasta la bye bye to an undetermined number of workers in Washington State, where AT&T Wireless is based, next year. Not to mention the AT&T Wireless brand going the way of the Oldsmobile. Within six months after the deal's closing the brand will just about disappear – though AT&T Corporation might yet revive it to another purpose in the future. "The deal will pay AT&T Wireless' 2.8 million shareholders $15 cash per share. That's good news if they bought after late 2001, when the price dropped below $15 and remained there," said the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "That lucky group doesn't include many AT&T Wireless employees, who along with other AT&T Corp. workers, bought some 36 million shares when AT&T Wireless made its initial public stock offering, on April 27, 2000. That day, shares closed at $32."….
From another objection to another non-objection. That's Verizon Wireless regarding a plan to give Nextel valuable airwaves, and Verizon changing its mind takes a huge hurdle away from a deal that looks to fix cell phone interference with public safety radios nationwide. And in return for Verizon giving up the objection, Nextel is giving up claims that it has exclusive rights to use the phrase push-to-talk when selling walkie-talkie-like services both companies offer. "This is very positive for all parties, especially for public safety," Nextel's Audrey Schaefer told USA Today. "It was time to put this behind us and move on," said Verizon's Jim Gerace. It's time to put the sound-bite clichés behind us, too.
Verizon Wireless hasn't been standing fast since that non-objection, by the way. They're planning to buy airwave licenses in 23 markets from NextWave Telecom for $3 billion, giving Verizon a lot more power to carry a lot more calls in some of the largest cities in the U.S., including New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Denver. All they need now is the go-ahead from Uncle Sam, courtesy of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains (where NextWave filed in 1998, after it couldn't pay further on buying the rights from the government), the Justice Department, and the Federal Communications Commission….
Meanwhile, Google's moving forward with plans for a version of its new desktop search tool for Mac computers. The company has no set timetable for the Mac version of Google Desktop, chief executive Eric Schmidt said, because Google has to rebuild it from the bottom up due to "fundamental differences" between Mac and Windows. Google released the Windows version of Desktop earlier this month, but it drew immediate alarm over possible privacy threats from programs prowling e-mails, instant messages, and other personal programming. "We will be very sensitive about this personal information for obvious reasons," Schmidt said. Obviously….
Short Snorts: Just what the world needs: reality television and online matchmaking joining hands in unholy matrimony. Or, to satisfy anyone out there whose fantasy lover might be Omarosa. Okay, we're only kidding. Kind of.
Would you believe there's going to be a Texas law next year requiring you to be "physically present" when doing any kind of hunting – and that the state Parks and Wildlife Department says it's the Internet's fault? You can look it up.
Eminem's fourth album, Encore will be released early, thanks to pirated early versions already online. The November 16 release date is moved up to November 12. U2 has similar problems with its new album, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
The e-pirates haven't exactly been neglecting the online games. Three new games – Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Half-Life 2 – have been hitting the Net running in counterfeited versions of late.
IBM brings the title of the World's Fastest Supercomputer back to the U.S. for the first time in three years. Okay, it ain't the America's Cup, but it'll do for now…
And that'll do for now, too. Until next week, always remember that a sacred cow is worth but one thing: steak!!
