The Voice of Bob

NGO Vleeptron
Earth Centre
Northampton Massachusetts USA
(upstairs, use upper doorbell)

So far today only three or four FedEx packages of Respect for Bob and NGO Vleeptron from around the world, this is IMHO a substandard response.

You don't have to believe Bob.

But yesterday, Bob of NGO Vleeptron was invited by The British Broadcasting Corporation -- da Beeb -- to participate in a global telephone mutual roundtable participation programme to discuss the global socio-economo-political ramifications and consequences and sequelæ regarding Google's announcement that, to open a Search Engine Boiler Room & Money-Printing Facility in China, they will obey the PRC government's demands that Google block/filter access to sensitive websites like Human Rights Watch and Vleeptron.

This was the subject of the previous pronunciemento from NGO Vleeptron on Tuesday. Mainly that this sucks the hairy wazoo, or similar sentiments. This is the work of a corporate-government co-prosperity team of forty subhumans in Italian suits and uncomfortable undergarments striving to find ever better ways to make technology oppress human beings.

Which is why I always enjoy watching rich, powerful men in $3000 suits having their heads gently guided into the back seat of the police car with their hands cuffed behind their backs. A Cautionary Tale. Today's assistant chief of integrated systems development could be tomorrow's New Face in prison, especially if they need a low-level flunky fall guy real bad.

The institution I Just Visited -- there's a tennis court in the visitors parking lot, no fences, no towers, no guns, no gates, everyone comes and goes essentially on the Honor System, wild turkey and deer gambol through the spacious woodlands. I didn't see very many jailhouse tatts among this krew of accountants and lawyers. I think one said "Tufts MBA '91".

Where was I? Oh yes, the new Google.cn . Let me tease to this remarkable BBC World Service radio programme featuring Bob of NGO Vleeptron. The young presentrix -- one very sharp cookie for an Electronic Journalist -- mentioned a New Phrase among DataHeads for the technical machine that gelds China's Internet Lite:

The Great Firewall

I crawled out of bed around 10:30 am and checked my e-mail. This one was clearly a new and eye-catching Scam Spam, probably originating from Bulgaria:

=================

Hello
I'm a BBC World Service Producer and today we want to discuss Google's decision to censor search results in China. Our radio programme is broadcast live across the world between 1800-1900GMT (in 4 and a half hours time) and is made up of comment, debate and opinion from around the world. If you would be interested in taking part, please email me and I will phone you to talk further about it.

Best wishes
Fiona Crack

Fiona Crack
World Have Your Say
BBC World Service

( + 44 (0) 20 7557 2257
* Room 316SE, Bush House, London, WC2B 4PH
8 fiona.crack@bbc.co.uk
7 http://www.bbc.co.uk/haveyoursay
7 http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain
personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically
stated.
If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.
Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in
reliance on it and notify the sender immediately. Please note that the
BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.
Further communication will signify your consent to this.

=================

I replied in a dignified professional manner:

Sure! Thanks! 413-xxx-xxxx
Bob Merkin
Massachusetts USA

=================

BBC calls me back in 5 minutes (on their sixpence). A real tourist-killer accent explains the drill to me, we synchronized our transatlantic atomic clocks, we go live at 1 pm Eastern Former Colony Time. At 1:03 the phone rang, and Bob, representing NGO Vleeptron, was ready to go live.

Actually the presentrix introduced me as "Bob, of Massachusetts." I sort of like that. Like Rodney, of Kent.

So anyway, who wants to hear The Voice Of Bob?

They archived the show. My guess is, they keep Yesterday's Show archived for you to listen to for 24 Hours. And I can't figure out how to SAVE it.

But if you Go HERE

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/world_have_your_say/#

over on the right it says: LISTEN AGAIN

Click that.

The name of the Programme is

World Have Your Say

Within 30 seconds the presentrix will start talking about Google, so that's the right episode, from WEDNESDAY 25 January 06.

The whole thing is worth the 15 minutes listen, a remarkably high-level, informative and mildly free-wheeling discussion of the ethical, moral, spiritual, political dimensions of this Sick Piece Of Corporate Totalitarian Government Crap.

It ain't Bertrand Russell, it ain't Hunter S. Thompson, but it's The Only Internet Source Of The Voice Of Bob To Date. Catch it here. Or let it escape. The choice is yours. This will go on your permanent record. Please enable cookies.

If you know how to SAVE THIS BBC AUDIO FILE TO BOB'S HARD DISK, please leave a Detailed Comment, thanks. Or you SAVE it if you're so smart, and then e-mail it to Bob, thanks.

NGO Vleeptron Goal 2006:
Observer Status Somewhere!
Observer Status at WurstFest
in New Braunfels, Texas USA!