Not Unexpected

I will refrain from the “ITYS”. But the fact is with the format as laid out it pretty much went the way I expected it. But what was unexpected was Comcast response to the whole affair. They filled the room with their employees like FDR packing the Supreme Court. –

Comcast admitted to paying its employees to sit in at a F.C.C. hearing on net neutrality at the Harvard Law School today, depriving angry protesters from their right to sit in those folding chairs. Despite the venue being filled to over capacity, keeping some people from entering, not everyone inside seemed appreciative of their privilege. One Comcast employee admitted on tape, “I’m just getting paid to hold someone’s seat, I don’t even know what’s going on.” According to SaveTheInternet.com, the Comcast employees, “arrived en masse some 90 minutes before the hearing began and occupied almost every available seat, upon which many promptly fell asleep.” The stacked audience’s behavior was limited to wearing a yellow highlighter, sleeping during the proceedings, and loudly applauding when Comcast VP David Cohen got on the mic.

– from Consumerist.

And for your viewing pleasure –

Then to heap insult onto injury –

Recently, Comcast responded to an FCC proceeding regarding it’s alleged blocking of bittorent traffic. In its discussion of how peer to peer uses the network, Comcast didn’t refer to a standards document, a software developer or even a network engineer, instead it referred to a member of Congress. Specifically, Representative Mary Bono Mack from California.

– from PUblic Knowledge blog

To expect a series of talking heads to be droll stuff is the pain we endure for the open discussion in a Republic. To even have antagonistic viewpoints has its purposes. But for Comcast to pull a stunt of packing the room like a bunch of Code Pinkers But then to in the course defending their views invoke a Pol in lieu of an established network authority is credilious at best, contempt to us all at the worst.

It is clear that Comcast has become what is the worst example of stark capitalist attitude. All in favor of profit but do us a favor Comcast; spare us the intellectual insult.

Consumerist Link
Public Knowledge linky.