No more free web radio?
This is a web-exclusive from the latest Newsweek:
"As you read these words on your monitor, there is a decent chance that you’re also streaming a little online radio. After all, with an estimated listenership of approximately 50 million Americans per month, Internet radio has become a go-to destination for a fuller spectrum of music, an alternative to FM’s mind-numbing monotony. And if you are one of those listeners, mark May 15 on your calendar: it might well be the day that the music dies."
What has happened is this - the Copyright Royalty Board (in the US) has changed rates from a percentage of revenue to a per-song, per-listener fee—effectively hiking the rates between 300 and 1,200 percent.
This means if this rate does not change, it will wipe out the vast majority of Web radio!
How would this affect us? Well most of the English web stations that we listen to are based in the US. If they start charging, we too will be forced to pay.
Read the full article here.
posted by Kabilan K at 1:46 PM
10 Comments:
Many wonder why non-malay children are not enrolling in national schools. I am sure some are wondering too, why there are many malay children enrolling in Chinese schools.
Two of my children were educated in a Chinese school up to SPM level. They have a well-rounded education and are proficient not only in Chinese, but in English and Bahasa Melayu too.
Their science and mathematic skills were presentable. Whereas students at national schools, especially from the rural areas, hardly can speak English. Precisely because the teachers who are supposed to teach them English, have no working knowledge of the language.
This is why I and many parents chose other than national schools for our children's education, even though we are malays. Yet, there are still among our mighty and powerful who are dumbstruck as to the real situation on the ground.
I appreciate every effort by the government to improve the standard of education in the country. Among others, the teaching of math and science in English. But this effort will only bear fruit in 20 years time.
We have already lost several generations to narrow nationalism. And at this age, where new technologies are being discovered or invented almost every day, we are going to be a big loser.
If we are really serious in our effort to realise our dream of being a developed country by year 2020, the government should introduce English as the medium of instruction in national schools. BM be taught as a compulsory subject.
Proficiency in foreign languages does not necessarily reflect a lack of patriotism. We can be very patriotic but if cannot acquire new technologies because of a lack of proficiency in a language, then our patriotism is next to nothing.
The majority couldn't even complete one simple, grammatically correct sentence.
This is quite a revelation about the standard of our education nowadays despite the hype and hyperbole by our politicians that our institutions of higher learning are of high standard.
I recently returned to Malaysia for a vacation and met up with a few old friends. We were talking about old times and present times, basically typical 'mamak stall' banter.
I couldn't help but ask their opinions about the current ho-ha between the prime ministers of old and new. We got talking about freedom of the press and corruption.
While they did agree with some of my points, they indirectly indicated there was a need for some 'necessary evils' for the sake of peace between races. I do not blame them for the BN machine over the years has instilled such fear in Malaysians through the propaganda, mainstream media and education system.
My friends told me there was no way they would let another coalition party rule the country, even to see if five years made a difference. A British philosopher once said, 'Neither a nation nor a man nor a crowd can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear'.
I am, however, encouraged that in recent years more questions are now being asked of ministers and BN cronies regarding corruption and suspicious business dealings. I am pleasantly surprised and happy that Dr Mahathir is doing what he is doing now.
Bear in mind he could just have retired quietly and enjoyed his life outside of politics. Perhaps he now realises the nasty seeds he has sown over the years and is trying to make things right while he still can.
I urge all Malaysians to keep questioning the current government engine, for as we all know there are not enough checks and balances to keep the ministers on their toes.
This is music to the ears of our Umno officials - money can buy anything, and our Umno-based politicians/ministers are very good at this.
First money politics, now money academics. Expect more Oxbridge graduates from Malaysia. Good or bad - time will tell.
The world is very small this day, and with the concept of globalization which is unavoidable, anyway goes to where an equal opportunity is available if you can.
Education is an important investment, and there is only a certain time frame that your children could utilize it at the best. So do not waste that time! There is more assistance than you could imagine if your kids do find difficulties on the path.
There is a thing called "quality of life". It means that there is a place where children have equal opportunity to develop themselves to the fullest, and the children believe that they are not prejudiced and could achieve what they want to be as opportunities are just there.
Good social order and hence personal safety (not so much of snatch thieves, robbers, road rages, rapists, pirates, etc), good living environment (safe water and clean air), good and efficient government administration (you get your income tax refund not more than six weeks after your submission, etc), educated society (people say "thank you" and "please" more often) and up to date medical care.
But you must be prepared to earn an honest living, as the laws are very strict against any illegal acts, which many underdeveloped countries utilize to make money under the name so called as "business".
Success or failure is not measured by its size but rather an effort to make the best out of oneself, and for that, fair and equal opportunity must be available.
So consider ourselves as "global citizens" and if we are good, we still can contribute a lot to the humanity and the world community where your effort is appreciated.
The question that has to be asked is does the BN even have a plan to remove the NEP at all? The truth is without the NEP, BN and Umno would break apart and kicked out of government.
So if Umno cannot survive without the NEP, it does not even matter what the facts are because they won't get rid of a policy that will end their tenure in government.
Umno malays will never remove NEP. Trust me.
Without NEP, how are they going to amass wealth? Without NEP, how are they going to play golf every weekend? Without NEP, how are they going to take second wife?
This proves that ASLI original report is indeed accurate and that the claim by a certain minister and the lame prime minister himself that bumi equity is only 19% is the real rubbish.
Well, can't say I blame them - they are rubbish themselves.
Badawi a leader for all Malaysians? You got to be kidding. He is the leader of the den of thieves known as Umno. As long as Umno is in power, the NEP will remain. Don't ever think otherwise.
Umno is like a person who does not know how to do an honest day work. It is nothing more than a spoilt kid who has been given everything it has ever wanted, and more. Yes, the self-destruction has begun, and there is no turning back unless the voters are savvy enough to vote them out of power.
Sadly, this is unlikely to happen, as Umno general assembly is going to demonstrate exactly how the thieves intend to stay in power at whatever cost - including using the perennial non-malay bogeyman.
Without the NEP, Umno will not survive, so they have to continue to pillage, rape and steal the country's resources without any due regard for the future.
How else could you explain that the APs scandal continues unabated, with the fat lady continuing to issue them in the tens of thousands to her cronies and relatives? How else could you explain that the government-owned banks continue to be bailed out with taxpayers money?
Only NEP implemented by Umno is capable of doing so. The lazy and weak society will not see it as a corruption practice and transgression of public money.
On the contrary, they will take it as a "dream", as we are often being asked by a salesperson initially, "What is your dream?" Of course, instead of drawing the multi layers commission overriding plan, they write: "Join la Umno".
Denying BN the 2/3 majority is the wakeup called needed for these contented and lazy people that we will one day be like the US, where the public has the voting rights to get rid of a party that acts not in favour of the majority citizens.
Discrimination in the private sector is everywhere. Even the Chinese businessman who is just starting gets discriminated against more established ones, unless he has a mentor to back him up.
As for career interviews, it is best to get a recommendation first. If I am using my own money, it is my right to choose whom I want - even to the extent of discrimination. Why would I want to hire someone that I cannot have lunch with, work with or converse with?
The BN government on the other hand is discriminating against the non-malays not with the malay money, but with probably the Chinese money as the latter pay the bulk of income tax collected in the country. That we are against.
The postings content is very passionate, sincere and emotional.
A plea to the Malaysia government to stop its racist discrimination against its own citizens who love their country and wanted to contribute to its growth and development, if given a fair chance.
I feel that these deserved a wider exposure and for the international community to read and know what is actually happening in Malaysia today, a neo apartheid in violation of human right and human decency.
This is a passionate plea from some very well educated Malaysians. You can feel the sadness and hopeless in their posts. And they really wanted to return to Malaysia, their birthplace and contribute but knowing that it will all be in vain.
I can only sympathise with all of them. For more and greater visible exposure, I am hoping more visitors to comment. It will give these postings and plea a wider and better audience.
My heart goes to all of you.
It saddens me to see the country I was born in and raised stagnating in so many ways - ideologically, sociologically and technologically.
As with every government initiative in Malaysia, there is no 'grand vision' (Vision 2020 is in serious need of updating) and its associated plan or strategy for execution with the attendant accountability component at every stage.
No, it is not Pak Lah fault. He can however, choose to surround himself with a group of forward-thinking technocrats from diverse fields of expertise and begin planning the course for transforming the nation - that is what it is going to take for Malaysia to be competitive in the 21st century.
However in Malaysia, I have observed in the government an acute reluctance to admit to any kind of past failure and even worse, a steadfast refusal to learn from its mistakes.
I fear that this particular malaise is the one crippling and overriding facet of the government that will cause it to bungle along if it does not alter its stance. Failure is okay if you can admit it, learn from it and improve as a result.
Our education system is in dire need of an urgent overhaul with emphasis shifted to quality rather than quantity. The low rankings of any of our local universities is nothing to shout about.
With the proliferation of universities, leading to a further lowering of entry barriers, I wouldn't be surprised if our local graduates will have even less employment prospects in the future. This has already been seen in certain neighbouring countries, where universities and colleges are a dime a dozen and some graduates have no choice but to become maids.
As for migration, those unemployable grads should get real. If your degree has little or no intrinsic value here, it is very unlikely those countries seeking brain gain will take you on. It is with such thoughts, that many parents are or have making the decision to emigrate when their children are young.
Being a developed society does not mean having the big airports, mega-shopping malls or tallest building, etc. It means having the right people to compete on the global stage. To be successful, Malaysia has to rid itself of old baggage and establish itself in markets that were once held by American, European or Japanese corporations.
One of the reasons why US is the most successful economy of the world lies in the fact that all immigrant communities contribute to the melting pot. This country promotes diversity for the well being of all. It is not even legal to ask an employee if he or she is a white or non-white.
Until and unless key policy leaders do something about the current education follies (I bet most realise the inadequacy of the system), Malaysia is not going to leapfrog into the ranks of developed countries in the next 12 years.
Yes, Ghani is right. I belong to the Chinese community with a heritage of 5000 years of culture and history.
I would not want to be included in the category of Bangsa Malaysia because that will diminish my glorious heritage. I would prefer to call myself Chinese rather then Bangsa Malaysia.
Your malay civilisation is hardly 300 years if we take the Malacca sultanate as the starting point. So you please stick with your pivotal malay race and I with my pivotal Chinese race.
Unfortunately the prime minister of the last 22 years, Dr Mahathir, has mixed politics into every aspect of our civil life. The privatisation of public utilities and transports, the management of Proton, Petronas, Malaysian Airlines, banks and the Renong have all been influenced by Malaysia politics.
As a result we, the people in the last 22 years have inherited a rotten education system with more than 60 percent of ethnic Chinese in Chinese-type schools and a substantial number of malays in Sekolah Agama Rakyat or private Islamic-type schools.
A system where one group is taxed for the benefit of another group will only work if the taxpayers feel that the tax beneficiaries are selected on the basis of economic need, nothing else. As a proud taxpayer, I know that taxation is necessary for the maintenance of the social contract.
The poor in Malaysia must be served but I am sure all taxpayers feel that this should be done in a manner which is blind to religion, gender, ethnicity and age.
Our government is filled with people who do not fundamentally understand the forces of free market and capitalism and the economics. They think they do, but they don't.
Many of them have grown rich under the NEP which they think has not hurt anyone and hence they think that open competition, market force and free market is something that can be tamed.
For those that come from a poor background, the situation seems almost impossible as their rich neighbours only seem to keep on being rich. This is because the rich are always fewer in number while the poor are many.
The Malaysia problem is that rich do become richer. And because of the political system, the players are the same.
Out of control - this is all I can say about any type of enforcement and the level of corruption in Malaysia. No idea what Pak Lah has done in his first year in office but judging from the ground, I guess nothing much.
There is still concentration of power in the prime minister's position, a practice inherited from Dr Mahathir.
There is still a lack of urgency and political will to tackle corruption. Many cases involving politicians are still pending while new cases do not seem to get the attention of the Anti-Corruption Agency for reasons best known to them.
The law enforcement which was once among the best of Southeast Asia is now reportedly the most corrupt government agency in Malaysia. The judiciary, once also respected in the world and the region is now not a respected place where Malaysians can find justice.
And just like his predecessor, he is not living up to his slogan. In fact as home minister, he is not such a nice guy after all.
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