News, Links, Live Internet Video Stream, Results and Archives.
Olympics Online – Just not in the US!
How ironic, given that Madison’s All City Swim Meet is available via internet video stream, that Non US internet users will be able to watch the olympics online, via streaming video; while captive American sports fans are stuck with cable/broadcast TV…. Anick Jesdanun summarizes the money and politics behind this absurdity (I’d be happy to pay for a real time video stream).
After conducting trials involving about 100,000 homes during the past two games, the International Olympic Committee is permitting more than a dozen broadcasters to show video of the Aug. 13-29 Olympics online.
But the footage will be highly restricted to protect lucrative broadcast contracts, which are sold by territory — $793 million paid by NBC alone. Web sites must employ technology to block viewers from outside their home countries, so U.S. Web surfers won’t benefit from the BBC’s live coverage. They’ll have to settle for highlights posted after NBC broadcasts, which are already largely tape-delayed.
On top of that, U.S. viewers must verify their identity using a credit card from Visa — an NBC advertiser — though they will not be charged.
Not a Visa cardholder? You’re out of luck.
Political Speech – now on www.itunes.com – free
iTunes gets political – Barry Ritholtz
Government and Business
Interesting contrast to local business climate views. I’ve said a number of times that Wisconsin politicians must make aggressive true broadband (not our current slow dsl/cable services) deployment the priority.
Record Lobbying Spending
Stacy Forster summarizes record Wisconsin special interest spending
Aside from the biennial budget, the so-called taxpayer bill of rights was the most lobbied bill in the session, representing 10,631 hours of lobbying, most of it this year. That was nearly equal to what was spent on the next nine most lobbied bills, according to reports filed with the state Ethics Board.
During the first six months of 2004, special interests spent $11.4 million, or 30% of the $37.8 million.
All City Swim: Results, Photos & Videos
Madison’s All City Swim is underway. The site features results, photos, videos along with a look at past all city events (including those held at B.B. Clarke Beach!).
Epic/Health Care Technology in the News
Jeff Richgels nicely summarizes a recently announced federal electronic medical records initiative and long time, successful Madison Tech (soon to be Verona) firm Epic Systems.
The downside of these sort of deals is that success requires lobbying and dealmaking with many interested (and moneyed) players.
Cartier-Bresson Dies
Henry Allen on Photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson’s death.
Hackworth on Missing Billions in Iraq
Highly decorated retired colonel David Hackworth on a CPA Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Inspector General Report on 8.8Billion that is MIA:
In Iraq, $8.8 billion is MIA. Serious dough even for the big spenders in Washington, D.C.
A pal in Iraq slipped me a draft Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Inspector General (IG) report dated July 12, 2004, that blisters the CPA for giving the missing billions to Iraqi ministries without appropriate controls.
US Falling Behind in Broadband Adoption
David Isenberg nicely summarizes our losing approach to “broadband adoption (DSL/Cable Internet access. Keep in mind that residents of Japan and South Korea can purchase internet access with speeds 10 to 30X ours at comparable rates). This is the real economic development issue for Wisconsin.