With depressing predictability, FCC boss leaves office with a list of his deeds... and a giant middle finger to America Ajit Pai has left his position as head of the FCC – America's communications regulator – marking the end of an extraordinary four years where telecoms policy was dragged into the era of alternate facts. With sad inevitability, Pai has a list of his accomplishments in a similar fashion. Just as he had done during his tenure, …
Goodbye, Pai! You enormous turd farmer.
I like Jessica Rosenworcel's grit. As I was reading this article I was thinking of the word to describe her under Pai's reign, and lo, there it was in the last quote in this article: ..."I dissent." She was the only one that gave the finger to Pai throughout his "leadership."
So Pai, with Section 230 you tried to rip away, farewell you motherfucker.
I have to give him a fail as well.
He did the right thing killing the so called "Net neutrality". If you can find a copy on the internet, you will find it specifically has an exemption blocking or throttling of the "content providers". "Net Neutrality my A##
He did the wrong thing by not re-writing it and removing that and other junk and giving us a clean regulation that required the ISPs to provide the clean bandwidth we pay for.
The second fail, I AM STILL GETTING SPAM CALLS AND TEXT. Give one of us readers the chair for 5 min and we will put a stop that crap. Remove the caller ID protection that benefits the carriers and allow us to see the true source, just like the 911 services.
To the author of this piece: it is clearly written to play to a specific group of people, please leave the bias out of it and be a real investigative reporter. My complaint is you need to research the Net Neutrality regs and give us a clear view of what they really are. We need to stop them from trying to lock us into more of the same without providing us what they tell us it is for - or, are you the one working for the cable companies and clouding the issues...
The only side I am advocating for is for all of us and I am tired of getting the short stick and lied to from these bureaucrats, They are both sides are the same coin.
Still getting spam calls -- yep, me too. Typically the pre-recorded spiel ends with "Press 2 if you want to be removed from the call list" -- which does nothing, as I get exactly the same spam with the same spiel next week.
Had a giggle the other day, got a spam call from "Social Security" and -- as it is a really a**hole act to target seniors in order to commit fraud -- I connected and then screamed at the Indo-subcontinent guy contracted to clinch the scam. The giggle was, he called me back! Said something like "You don't have to punch the number, you know". Of course I screamed insults at him a second time. And he called back again! He attempted a feeble insult, but of course he was probably in a call-center setting and couldn't be loud, so it was easy to ride over him and give him another dose.
I've never had a scammer call back once, let alone twice. Quite unexpected.
"Still getting spam calls -- yep, me too. Typically the pre-recorded spiel ends with "Press 2 if you want to be removed from the call list" -- which does nothing, as I get exactly the same spam with the same spiel next week."
Of course they took you off the list. They'd not lie to you. They do, however have 10,000,000 people on "the list". They also have a an individual copy of "the list" for each person called. You only need to request, at the time of the call, to be removed from each list as it is used. Only an other 9,999,999 calls to go and you're free and clear!
" They also have a an individual copy of "the list" for each person called."
Which is why you use the words "Put me on your organisation's do not call list"
Beyond that point the costs start escalating rapidly
I know it's harder to enforce with "foreign call centres", but 'follow the money' applies. Sooner or later someone has to handle the financials
"I connected and then screamed at the Indo-subcontinent guy contracted to clinch the scam."
I am getting two scam calls a day. Microsoft, BT, Amazon, ISP. I keep logging them on the BT "scam" page. There is rarely other daily traffic so the calls must be able to be unmasked - and some appear to be based in the UK.
I found that yelling at them wasn't good for my blood pressure. I have now adopted the sweet reasonable style that was used by Hawkeye to wind-up Major Burns. It has had mixed results:
1) guy laughed and wished me a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
2) woman said that she would come over and stuff the phone down my throat
3) guy started to utter a long mantra which was either a curse or a purifying religious screed.
4) woman yelled "shaddup" and cut the line.
You start off by throwing them a non sequitur that can confuse or intrigue them. Like "Oh <name> I saw your video last night". The punchline is you explain - a la Hawkeye - that they obviously enjoyed what they were doing in the video.
I take your point, AC. If I choose to respond aggressively I look on it as an acting exercise, that is, calling up the appearance of rage without actually abandoning myself to the feeling. That's interesting (to me) because my personality is quite controlled and somewhat introverted, and in this case I can play someone who is the opposite. And I get to improvise the character's dialogue, which is fun.
I'm also aware that the people manning these call centers are probably desperate for a job, and that while Social Security fraud is a crime in the US, the call center personnel in India or Pakistan or Sri Lanka, wherever, may not be criminally liable in their country. Not sure about that. But in a sense, attacking the peon at the other end of the signal is unfair. But, again, they're attempting to facilitate criminal fraud in the US. Choose a position, change it at will.
The Mariott Hotel scam is the one that I get most often. (It has nothing to do with Mariott International, that's just the hook.) I did try to speak to a rep politely once, but I didn't even get my first sentence out before the rep cut the connection. Useless.
I've wandered off-topic, and I'll stop now.
"I'm also aware that the people manning these call centers are probably desperate for a job, and that while Social Security fraud is a crime in the US, the call center personnel in India or Pakistan or Sri Lanka, wherever, may not be criminally liable in their country. "
Under USA law they can be (and have been) extradited to the US to face charges - long arm statutes apply
It's WHY the US FBI has field offices in Lagos and Mumbai
Ohhhhh man...
Wouldn't that be Awesome?
I'm from SillyValley and live in Seattle...
Ron from Oregon* Really Really Would be a good fit from a Reg Commentard / USTelCo (law) (us goobers) perspective. That would play out better than This shit show.
Unlikely to happen, and, if you have ideas on how to make it so let me know because That, my new friend, is just genius.
x There's a brewery around the corner, buying it for you.
* Joke from my partner's son: Even Oregonians think Oregon is strange.
We're not allowed bar tenders round these parts right now.
On the flipside. After 4 years of point blank refusing to even consider visiting the states, we (me, myself and the rest of the family) might visit again (once seeing other people is legal again).
For now there's the home bar. It's grown in Lockdown despite best attempts at whittling it to a reasonable number of drinks before liver failure (spirits are now just under 300 bottles, beers up to over 130 cans/bottles and the wife just placed separate orders to a cocktail bar for take out and a wine merchant)
" After 4 years of point blank refusing to even consider visiting the states, [...]"
A professorial friend often visits the USA as part of his research collaborations. After 2016 he reported that many of his academic contacts in the US were apologising for the turn their country had taken.
For personal reasons I've looked to the USA as a beacon of hope. Almost all (minus 4 yrs) of my 55 yrs life. I am sad to witness that Trump marks the decline of the USA. Though he was not the culprit of the mess. Just the loud messenger.
I am Dutch, we all have affordable broadband availability, with fibre to many homes. Not so in the USA.
I live on social benefits, can afford everything I need (rent, food&drink, etc.) and more (vanity/fashion items such as an iPad, an iPhone and a modern Fiat 500.) We all have access to good enough and surely modern health care. Not so in the USA.
No national broadband coverage, children relying on school-meals as their only source of nutrition. The USA is underdeveloped while wielding one of the biggest military forces ever to be witnessed.
I've lost hope and feel bad for all those US citizens.
!!! Even at my age I can attend university for bachelor and masters degree because of student loan laws covering my tuition fees. !!!
The decline of Sparta will be the model for the USA, with China/Europe acting in the role Athens had with regards to Sparta. (You can't touch me-attitude)
I do not envy Joe Biden. Or any american citizen.
Too bad there isn't a banana-icon to accompany this post, as to illustrate the state of the republic of the US of A.
Let me be clear, I wish well for all people around he globe!
But everybody here in the United States CAN receive healthcare when they need it. For free, even.
As Wiki puts it "The 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act is an act of the United States Congress, that requires emergency departments, if the associated hospital receives payments from Medicare, to provide appropriate medical examination and emergency treatment to all individuals seeking treatment for a medical condition, regardless of citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay."
So what was your point again?
That's a whole nuther kettle o'worms, but it boils down to the greedy bastards running the insurance scamscompanies whose lobbyists pay the shysters in Washington enough to look the other way coupled with healthcare being used to bilk the middle class to make money for a few incredibly wealthy individuals.
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Jake, your quoted statement relates purely to medical examination and emergency treatment in an emergency department, and then only if the hospital is part of the Medicare program.
Free healthcare means you don't pay for routine operations, doctor's consultations etc, no matter how much it might cost or how long it takes.
No, it does not apply only to emergency treatment. Common misconception. You can go into the ER with an undocumented worker's child who has a badly infected scrapped knee, and they will clean and bandage the wound and prescribe antibiotics (if needed), and fill that prescription, without ever asking for payment, or even proof of identity. I have seen it with my own eyes.
Yes, only if that hospital is part of the Medicare program. Which most public hospitals are.
I personally know people (some undocumented) who use the ER the same way I use my family physician. The ERs are actually set up to handle this. Yes, it's a stupid system, but the care that these people get is equal to that which I get. Here in Northern California, the ERs usually manage to convince folks to go to the local clinic instead, which will also provide that level of care. Including filling prescriptions, mental health, translation services, birth control, etc.
Don't tell me it doesn't exist. I know it exists. Friends of mine use it.
The bit that I always find striking is how accepting Americans seem to be of the idea you should let something get really bad before seeking help (generally due to cost). If you search on the net for DIY medicine tips, you'll see all sorts of examples of things we take for granted.
Taking the example from Jake's post though, if your knee is badly infected and requires an ER visit, would it not have been better (and safer) to have been able to go see the doctor when it was first seeming to become infected? It would have required less costly treatment, and doesn't come with quite the same risk of developing things like sepsis.
Saying "you can get help once it's got really bad" doesn't really do anything to change the fact that the US medical system underserves it's citizens, despite them paying more per-capita in tax money into their medical system, only on top of the insurance they need.
In another post, Jake mentioned that's the fault of lobbyists in Washington, which is probably true, but still ignores it's a problem within the American state, that America could fix if there was a will. Instead, people are left to suffer, and/or have their financial situation destroyed.
And heaven forbid you're incapacitated and someone calls an ambulance for you. Bye, bye retirement fund.
And if you think the normal physical healthcare system here is bad, the dental situation is worse, and the mental healthcare 'system' here is a container ship filled with containers filled with dumpsters on fire.
(health insurance here normally doesn't cover a lick of dental work unless it's related to, say, a broken jaw, or something that's gone past the realm of normal dental processes. Same with eyecare- you need glasses? hope you have separate vision insurance. Of, you don't? hope there's a charity nearby, or you win the lottery. I won't even get into the mental health care cesspit, which is almost entirely caused by the insurance companies completely screwing over the providers bad enough to make them unprofitable.)
Care to cite a source on that assertion? I seriously doubt that the US government does any such thing on a per capita basis. Health care in the us is predominately private, for profit, and with a marked cost barrier for entry for all to many of their citizens. THe US health care industry does indeed cost more per capita than spent in the uk, only you have to include the for profit element.
> Care to cite a source on that assertion? I seriously doubt that the US government does any such thing on a per capita basis.
I've seen the claim previously too. Can't remember where I saw it originally.
But, if you look at the OECD data - https://data.oecd.org/healthres/health-spending.htm - you can see it. You'll want to change the graph perspective to Govt/compulsory so that you're excluding the impact of people having their personal healthcare plans.
I wasn't sure what OECD classed as compulsory though, so went hunting for more.
BBC News put up a comparison a while back in relation to claims the NHS costs halve of what the US system does - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42950587
You can see that the £ breakdown of health spending per capita is listed as
- UK 2290 (govt), 602 (private)
- US 3742 (govt), 3875 (private)
> But even if you look only at public money spent on health, the US government's spending on healthcare still outstrips UK government spending, both in terms of the proportion of its GDP (the way we normally measure the size of a country's economy) and in terms of how much it spends per head.
So it does seem to be true, as unbelievable as it sounds. US consumers are basically being milked twice.
That is a cruel joke. Emergency rooms, after you wait bleeding out in the lobby for 12 hours, will give then patch you up just enough to send you back on the street and you will be on your own to get a primary physician to follow you and actually come up with an ongoing treatment plan.
If you have not been in an ER in the last 10 years, are you in for a surprise.
"Let's not discuss the recent resignation of the whole cabinet and the PM over child welfare."
They cocked up. Badly. They collectively fell on their swords. Not many would do that. The Trump administration would simply deny it ever happened and there was nothing to apologise for and anyway, look over there!
Agreed, for a country that is meant to be world leading there are not many things it IS leading in.
America is a country designed for the rich, if you are rich you can afford to send your children to private, provelidged schools. If you are rich you can pay for and medial care. If you are rich you can afford to pay for a great retirement package. For the other 99% of the people it will always be a struggle.
In many ways I think of America as a 3rd world country. With too many people seeming to care ONLY for themselves (and their guns). We have shared responsibilities as citizens of a nation. If I need medical attention then other people and companies. through their taxes help pay for it. When my children went to school the cost was paid by myself and by other people through taxes. The roads that I drive on are paid by myself and other people through their taxes. The list goes on and on. Too many Americas seem to think that they have NO responsibility to the rest of the country. That is wrong and is very sad. I know this is NOT the majority of Americans but it does seem to be way too many of them.
"Too many Americas seem to think that they have NO responsibility to the rest of the country."
And probably see themselves as patriots who will defend their country to the death, so long as they don't have to pay for it.
As you say, fortunately not all are like that. They do have a very strong culture of charitable giving and fund raising, but that results in pet projects and spotty coverage, often not where it's needed most. But then there's a severe distrust of allowing government to take the money and spend it "appropriately" and not on junkets.
"Agreed, for a country that is meant to be world leading there are not many things it IS leading in."
On the contrary, the USA IS a worldleader in many areas.
The fact that they're areas no civilised country would aspire to leadership of (incarceration rates, teenage pregnances, decline in average lifespan, bankruptcies, etc ) is a different matter
This post moved me.
Thank you.
And may I please... since I live in this mess.
I love us folk around here because we're from all over and that makes me happy.
The US is down but not out.
You cats in Europe, I think, New Zealand, etc etc, have some Serious excellence that I wish we had here. But please don't lose hope... and hope isn't my bag (last thing out of Pandora's box), and I'd ask to let us Grow, again.
As an analyst, I got... nothing.
As a human I'd ask for some time to try and figure things out... and I Do think some of this crap will start to get sorted.
Make no mistake, my patience is zero, but next to this lint in my pocket I just found a little more. Split it with you?
"I'm sure Boris Johnson would welcome him in to a position of power."
When a person keeps making a mess in well-paid positions running organisations - I vote with my feet.
Flickr
Yahoo!
Talk-Talk
Unfortunately with my lineage apparently going back to William the Conqueror's time - I can't do the same with their recent government appointed positions..
"This year’s broadband report from the FCC should be full of data and stories of how the current situation hurt the United States and how it is more imperative than ever to fix the problem. It should have argued for determined action."
Imho it also shows we've become overly dependent on that network and do way to much ONLY via the Internet
"Imho it also shows we've become overly dependent on that network and do way to much ONLY via the Internet"
Does it? What are the things for which we depend on it which we shouldn't, and what should we use instead? A lot of the things we now do on the internet were things we used to do by going to a place in person, but now we don't for everyone's safety. That does make us dependent, but the alternative has some thorny problems. And there are things that rely on the internet which used to rely on a phone call to a person, but that's not really different because most internet lines are in the same place as the phone lines if they're not just the same wire. So what things, in your opinion, should be removed from the internet so we can be more independent of it?
I'm sure Pai, like so many incompetent, self-serving idiots with a resume that looks good on paper, will go on to become CEO or CIO of some poor befuddled company that should have known better than to hire him. And as such, assist them with their high-speed rollercoaster ride into the ground, sowing misery, disinformation, and infighting as he goes, but pulling the ripcord on his golden parachute just before impact. We all know how such excrement generally fails upwards.
Kudos to Jessica. Hopefully she has the energy and lifetime supply of antidepressants to lead the FCC out of their candlelit cave and into reality.
> I'm sure Pai, like so many incompetent, self-serving idiots with a resume that looks good on paper, will go on to become CEO or CIO
Agree, except the "poor befuddled company" part: Pai is actually quite intelligent (else he couldn't had achieved that much destruction), and Big Cable owes him a favor: He'll get a cushy job using his connections to further his employer's interests. Like before, actually.
He'll get a cushy job using his connections to further his employer's interests. Like before, actually.
His insider knowledge, having screwed the pooch while in office, will seal the deal and sweeten the pot. As much as being a Trump appointee hurts a lot of people ATM, I think our Ijit will weather the storm.
Whan a SMF...
"He'll get a cushy job using his connections to further his employer's interests. Like before, actually."
Don't be so sure
Forbes have made it clear that henceforth they're treating anyone employed or appointed by Trump will be treated as as toxic radioactive garbage inasmuch as media interactions are concerned - they've actually issued an advisory against anyone employing these people as in Forbes eyes it wil rub off on the employer
I'm sure Pai, like so many incompetent, self-serving idiots with a resume that looks good on paper, will go on to become CEO or CIO of somepoor befuddled company that should have known better than to hire himfat-ass telecoms or cable company to reward him for his years of ass-licking service.
There. FTFY.
Is and always Has been a lie.
Uncomfortable Truth is that the "provider contract" you sign is what they come up with.
I built the first independent internet service provider in central California after net "deruglation"... dug up miles of town for my OC48 (much ISDN....lol, idiot, hindsight, oi) to the City switch. That was Easy...
The lawyers were Insane with trying to figure stuff out, vis a vis: Liability, naturally. That was quite painful.
Net Neutrality is a lovely concept and it really boils down to: I pay for (personally) and provide (professionally) 65,535 TCP and another in UDP ports... unrestricted.
^ At the end of the day this is really all anyone gives a damn about.
Net Neutrality is a bandaid that wouldn't be NEEDED if there was competition in the marketplace
The elephant in the room is that across large parts of the USA, legislated local monopolies are the order of the day
New Zealand solved the issue by breaking vertical integration - companies selling dialtone cannot own the lines - nor can they control them
(Spark and Chorus are fully cleaved parts of Telecom New Zealand analagous to the UK's BT/Openreach - TCNZ offered NZ a copy of the existing BT/Openreach "pseudo separation" and the country took advantage of the opportunity to swing an axe where it mattered)
The UK did a half-arsed copy of this cleaving, but it has failed miserably because BT still own the lines as well as providing dialtone, whilst Openreach is a contracting company. beholden to its lines -owning customer.
The model is there, if USA state level regulators wish to take it up - but they won't
"Pai will, of course, be most closely associated with the reversal of net neutrality rules. Not only did he undercut the FCC’s own rulings made just two years earlier but he pushed through a predetermined outcome, often with almost comic pretense to running a proper policy process."
McCarthy ignores a couple of things here (actually he ignores or distorts rather a lot but time is limited).
The FCC's ruling that Pai & the other FCC commissioners reversed was itself questionable. What is certain is investment in broadband in the U.S. collapsed with the implementation of 'net neutrality' recovering only after it was reversed.
Pai may not have been perfect, but McCarthy is indulging in partisan excoriation rather than providing an assessment.
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