In keeping with New guide lines for writing this blog, hereafter referred to as NRGB, New rule number 6. "No more references to FaceBook will be made in jest."   I shall observe this rule and continue to limit my comments concerning FaceBook.

So let's talk about MySpace. I am not a member of MySpace. I have plenty of space at my house, I don't need to identify it as MY Space because it really exists and it is mine. You can drive by my space the next time you are cruising Encino looking for Fred Willard's house. He lives across the street. (Sorry, name dropping is a well crafted sport in LA. I like to try to stay in shape).

But back to MySpace. My youngest son, like his dad, believes that there exists a "global elite" intent on ruling the world by dumbing down the population. They may some day even trick or scare us into electing a President who can't pronounce the word "Nuclear" and has the IQ of a Texas Jackalope.  But that could never happen, this is America not Ruwanda. Why worry about that?

But ...Back to MySpace. My son will not use or even acknowledge MySpace except to pronounce it the subversive tool to ultimately gain control of an unsuspecting world. He points out that Rupert Murdock (poster boy for the controling elite) owns MySpace. He paid in the neighborhood of 147 million dollars for it from a couple of high school hacker nerds who were just using it to try and meet some girls on line. Who knew that Rupert was so interested in "social interaction" .

So here is my issue.  No arm banded goose stepping troupe will ever have to march in and take away our rights here in America. With the proper presentation, we will just give our civil liberties voluntarily, we are that generous a Nation.  I am sure FaceBook has a similar clause in their Terms of Agreement but here is the actual language Murdock's lawyers came up with for Myspace.  (It is legal speak but remember if you are using MySpace you signed off on this contract. Of course if you didn't read back then, you probably won't read it now.)

6. Proprietary Rights in Content on MySpace.
6.1 MySpace does not claim any ownership rights in the text, files, images, photos, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, or any other materials (collectively, “Content”) that you post on or through the MySpace Services. After posting your Content to the MySpace Services, you continue to retain any such rights that you may have in your Content, -( JJ note: This sounds really great.. MySpace is graciously granting me the rights to ownership of my own stuff. What massive generosity but read on... anything following the phrase "subject to" means in legal speak that the previous statements are Bull shit) subject to the limited license herein. By displaying or publishing (”posting”) any Content on or through the MySpace Services, you hereby grant to MySpace a limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such Content solely on or through the MySpace Services, including without limitation distributing part or all of the MySpace Website in any media formats and through any media channels, except Content marked “private” will not be distributed outside the MySpace Website. (JJ note: I'm sorry did they say limited license? What would an unlimited license sound like?)

Just to to clarify "they"  have a right to "distribute such Content in all media formats and through any media channels".  Who are they and what media are they talking about? According to Wikipedia here is the media the Murdock's News Corp owns: (It is in small print,  just like a contract disclaimer so I could get the massive list down to blog size)

Film

Twentieth Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Español
Twentieth Century Fox International
Twentieth Century Fox Television
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Studios Australia
Fox Studios Baja
Fox Studios Los Angeles
Fox Television Studios

Television
20th Century Fox Television
bTV
BSkyB
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Sports Australia
Fox Television Stations
Foxtel
Premiere (19,9%)
Star Group Limited
Sky Latin America
SKY Network Television New Zealand
Sky Italia
Fox International Channels Italy
STAR TV
Latvijas Neatkarīgā Televīzija
TV5 Rīga

Cable
Fox Business Network
Fox Movie Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Sports Channel
Fox Sports Enterprises
Fox Sports en Español
Fox Sports Net
FUEL TV
FX Networks
Fox Reality
National Geographic Channel
SPEED Channel
Turner South
LAPTV (Latin America - co-owned with Paramount Pictures/Viacom, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/MGM Holdings and Universal Studios/NBC Universal)
Telecine (Brazil - co-owned with Globosat Canais, Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Universal Studios and DreamWorks/Viacom);

Internet
Fox Interactive Media
AmericanIdol.com
AskMen.com
Fox.com
Foxsports.com
GameSpy
kSolo
IGN
Drownedinsound.com
MySpace
MyNetworktv.com
NewRoo.com
Strategicdatacorp.com
Photobucket.com
Rotten Tomatoes
Scout.com
SpringWidgets
WhatIfSports

Tired of reading?  Well we haven' t even gotten to the Printed media yet...

At this point a certain segment of readers will lose interest and return to MySpace.

  

Magazines and Inserts
InsideOut
donna hay
News America Marketing
SmartSource
The Weekly Standard
Gemstar

Newspapers
News International
United Kingdom
The Sun
News of the World
The Times
Sunday Times
News Corporation Ltd.
Australia
The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney)
The Australian (national)
The Advertiser and Sunday Mail (Adelaide)
The Sunday Times (Perth)
Herald Sun (Melbourne)
Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne)
mX (Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane)
The Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
Geelong Advertiser
Gold Coast Bulletin
The Mercury and Sunday Tasmanian (Hobart)
Northern Territory News (Darwin)
The Sunday Territorian (Darwin)
New Zealand
Sunday Star-Times
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea Post-Courier
Fiji
The Fiji Times
United States
New York Post
The Wall Street Journal

So.... You know that compromising photo you took of yourself and posted on line. The one you only wanted your pals to see so they would know you're a jackass when you are stoned? It's only a Murdock decision away from airing on Fox Television tonight as the lead story, or perhaps front page of the tasteful New York Post.  Pay you for your intellectual property or use to the rights of your likeness? No, Check the agreeement. Recourse if it is slanderous or liebaleous?... that is not in the Terms of Agreement either. It seems the media listed above has the  "limited license" to do with that photo anything it wishes in any form it decides.

You always have the right to cancel your page on MySpace.  The content that you posted previously... it's still their property.

Remember the eight girls from Lake Land, Florida who lured their friend to a house so they could beat the s--- out of her and film it for MySpace? They gave them a catchy name in the headlines to follow, The Lake Land 8?  Remember who broke that story almost before they broke the girl's nose?   Fox News.  The other media picked it up quickly, but Murdock scooped them because technically that story was produced "in house".  

And lastly. Why would 8 teenage girls want to beat the crap out of a schoolmate and video it for distribution? Well, it seems the victim wrote something the others didn't like on MYSPACE.

I rest my case your honor.

As you were,

Jay