I'm not sure exactly how the media works in the US, but it might be helpful for people to understand how politics and media work in Japan. The politicians and lobby groups all have access to the media. They hire investigators, photographers and use all kinds of resources to collect dirt about their political foes. Then, when they need to put pressure on someone, they go to the sleazy Japanese media with the dirt and saturate the media with the dirt. When one gets involved in business or any other activity in Japan, one chooses either to stay out of the media or use it. Once one get into the media and people start paying attention to you, the attention increases. This attention helps you get loans from banks, get jobs, etc. People think that if you are in media, it is difficult to do shady things like rip people off, go bankrupt, or run away. The media keeps writing lots of stuff about you as long as you keep doing new stuff. At a certain point, after they start running out of good things to day, they switch and start tearing you apart. That way, they get twice the media miles out of one person. The general structure is that your political foes keep releasing bad stuff about you and minor magazines publish this stuff. As soon as the political pressure gets too much or the media decides you are a bore, a public reputation capital bankruptcy occurs and everyone tears you apart. This has happened to almost every major modern leader in Japan. I realize that my public reputation capital in Japan has no value or meaning on the Net, but it does affect what I can do on the Net. I am currently very exposed in the media in Japan. I regularly appear in the Newspapers, TV, Magazines and public events. I am still not a "rock star" but I am enough of a public figure so that people bash me publicly and recognize me on the street. Magazines write about my private life and feel that "who I am going out with" is worth a headline. In this state, I have the security of being under a bright light that keeps direct attacks away, but it makes me very vulnerable to indirect attacks. Investigators ask my friends whether I take drugs, drive drunk, have divorced parents... anything. So... To retain my current position from where I am launching my assault on a bad structure, I have to cover myself with the media and there I have to comply with the general legal and moral norms of Japanese society. Luckily, bashing the bad guys in government and industry is OK as long as you win. Unfortunately, I can not take drugs, drive drunk, be a terrorist, or... probably be a hardline cypherpunk. My currently strategy is to protect my public position and get as many "torso shots" as possible with my publicly acceptable weapon before I get knocked down. I will then resort to the use of "unauthorized weapons". I am not out to destroy the government or industry. I'm trying to cure the cancer that has developed. I have a feeling Japan may die of this cancer, but at least I won't have been a part of the cancer. and... if Japan dies of the cancer, hey, we can all build the next Japan. Sorry to write such a "self-oriented" message. I just wanted to explain why I am appear very conservative for a cypherpunk wannabe. - Joi -- PGP Key: http://pgp.ai.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x2D9461F1 PGP Fingerprint: 58F3 CA9A EFB8 EB9D DF18 6B16 E48D AF2A 2D94 61F1 Home Page: http://domino.garage.co.jp/jito/joihome.nsf To subscribe to my personal mailing list send mailto:friends-subscribe@ji.to