FREE SPOCKO!!!!!!

The Internet can do many wonderful things. Probably the greatest are the dissemination of opinion and information. In this brave new world, anyone with a computer and an ISP can become a pundit, news aggregate, or diarist. There is a nasty and darker side to this as well. Such is the case of the blogger and muckraker Spocko.

As noted by Daily Kos Diarist Mike Stark, Spocko has suffered from the hard-handed and short-sighted tactics of Disney, yes the company that thrives on good wholesome family fun. Lets look at a sample of this Mouse stations programming highlights from MediaDaily News (Jan 5, 2007):

KSFO features hard right-wing talk show hosts who endorse torture and mock the tortured, called for the public hangings of New York Times editor Bill Keller and other journalists, and demand that callers mock Islam. They also mock their own advertisers, calling Chevrolet "sh!tty" and recommending that Sears' Diehard battery be attached to an African-American's testicles.

Makes Its A Small World look like a night in a Batista-era prison eh? Well this moral family fun was recorded by Spocko and placed on the Internet through his website, Spocko's Brain. He aslo began contacting the stations advertisers such as Netflix, MasterCard, Visa, and Bank of America. When either exposed to what they were sponsoring or called on it the sponsors pulled their adverts from KSFO. Was Disney surprised, shocked and appalled at the hate speech being spewed under their corporate nose?

The Friday before Christmas, Dec. 22, ABC Radio sent a cease-and-desist order to Spocko and his Internet Service Provider, 1&1 Internet, claiming unauthorized use of copyrighted material.

Neil Simpkins, spokesperson for ISP provider 1&1 Internet, says his company received the same letter from ABC Radio that was sent to Spocko's Brain, citing unauthorized use of copyrighted material. He says 1&1 gave Spocko one week to pull the material, and when he did not, the ISP pulled his site Jan. 2.

There is just one moon and one golden sun and a smile means friendship too everyone... oh sorry I was just carried away by the wholesome fun that a cease-and desist can bring. So lets let these folks, with just a sprinkle of pixie dust and a tiny bit of magic, know just how we feel. Here are some numbers and addresses so you can share the magic!

General Programming or ABC Radio Sales
Mike Connolly
Senior Vice President, Sales
ABC Radio Networks
(212) 735-1700

Robert A. Iger
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street,
Burbank, California 91521
(818) 560-1000

1&1 Internet Inc.
701 Lee Road, Suite 300
Chesterbrook, PA 19087
Phone: 1-877-GO-1AND1
Fax: 610-560-1501