Google & the Future of Books - The New York Review of Books
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22281

Google & the Future of Books - The New York Review of Books

Don't get me wrong. I know that businesses must be responsible to shareholders. I believe that authors are entitled to payment for their creative labor and that publishers deserve to make money from the value they add to the texts supplied by authors. I admire the wizardry of hardware, software, search engines, digitization, and algorithmic relevance ranking. I acknowledge the importance of copyright, although I think that Congress got it better in 1790 than in 1998.

Interesting article that looks at the future of the book in light of the recent settlement betewen Google and the major publishing houses.

Robert Darnton- an important figure in Book History- is concerned about the future of the information society as major players increasingly hold the greatest sway

What will happen if Google favors profitability over access? Nothing, if I read the terms of the settlement correctly. Only the registry, acting for the copyright holders, has the power to force a change in the subscription prices charged by Google, and there is no reason to expect the registry to object if the prices are too high. Google may choose to be generous in it pricing, and I have reason to hope it may do so; but it could also employ a strategy comparable to the one that proved to be so effective in pushing up the price of scholarly journals: first, entice subscribers with low initial rates, and then, once they are hooked, ratchet up the rates as high as the traffic will bear.

Updated ALA tool

Tool to help you determine whether or not a reproduction is covered by this exemption.

http://unreasonablefaith.com/2009/01/21/how-to-stump-anti-abortionists-with-one-question/

"Did you know you can stump anti-abortionists with one simple question? Just ask them this: If abortion was illegal, what should be done with the women who have illegal abortions?" | IT MAKES NO SENSE, PEOPLE. THINK!

What do you think?

about captioning

Music Industry to Abandon Mass Suits

The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl. [us album sales] Instead, the Recording Industry Association of America said it plans to try an approach that relies on the cooperation of Internet-service providers. The trade group said it has hashed out preliminary agreements with major ISPs under which it will send an email to the provider when it finds a provider's customers making music available online for others to take.

When you retard fair use with pointless DRM and then sue anonymous children for illegally downloading music while ignoring those of the execs at the top of the music industry, you're asking for a public relations nightmare. Now, with more than 35k lawsuits to its credit, RIAA says it will finally end the legal assault against consumers that began back in '03. RIAA will instead, focus its anti-piracy efforts with ISPs. Under the new plan, the RIAA will contact ISPs when illegal uploading is detected. The ISP will then contact the customer with a notice that would ultimately be followed by a reduction or cessation of service. As you'd expect, the RIAA is not commenting on which ISPs they are in cahoots with. The RIAA also says that it won't require ISPs to reveal the identities of individuals but could, of course, go after individuals who are heavy uploaders or repeat offenders. For the moment though, it appears that single-mothers are in the clear.

Fuck the RI double A

Not a big Facebook fan. Glad I haven't used it for content sharing. I've got to believe my photos have a much better home in Flickr.

FB changed it's TOS to include rights to your content even AFTER you've closed your account.

Facebook's New Terms Of Service: "We Can Do Anything We Want With Your Content. Forever."

Whether you're a newly minted blogger or a relative old-timer, you've been seeing more and more stories pop up every day about bloggers getting in trouble for what they post.

marijuana funny America humor cool articles interesting legal cracked weapons fun

http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/rssstimulus RSS Hits the Big Time (Aaron Swartz's Raw

Via David: Obama segna un punto per la trasparenza. Il pacchetto stimulus richiede alle agenzie governative di produrre un feed con le elargizioni di denaro. Gov meshup, here we come.

The US Government are requiring agencies to publish funding information through RSS feeds. "For each of the near term reporting requirements (major communications, formula block grant allocations, weekly reports) agencies are required to provide a feed (preferred: Atom 1.0, acceptable: RSS) of the information so that content can be delivered via subscription."

the new stimulus bill’s implementation instructions require that each government agency report the money it gives out in RSS: For each of the near term reporting requirements (major communications, formula block grant allocations, weekly reports) agencies are required to provide a feed (preferred: Atom 1.0, acceptable: RSS) of the information so that content can be delivered via subscription.

"the new stimulus bill’s implementation instructions require that each government agency report the money it gives out in RSS:"

As chaunceyt pointed out, the new stimulus bill’s implementation instructions require that each government agency report the money it gives out in RSS

sweet sweet RSS nozzle

"For each of the near term reporting requirements (major communications, formula block grant allocations, weekly reports) agencies are required to provide a feed (preferred: Atom 1.0, acceptable: RSS) of the information so that content can be delivered via subscription." --- Now, someone needs to figure out where each of these feeds is (will be?) published, and write an aggregator so that there's a one-stop-shopping end-point.

"[T]he new stimulus bill’s implementation instructions require that each government agency report the money it gives out in RSS… The document is very clear that the items in the feed can’t simply be unstructured text, but have to be reusable data… Pretty amazing to see a government so tech-savvy."

(your name) is blacked out: Stand up against "Guilt Upon Accusation" for New Zealand http://creativefreedom.org.nz/blackout.html

What an insane law. I sure hope this doesn't go into effect.

The New Zealand Internet Blackout protests against the Guilt Upon Accusation law 'Section 92A' that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny. This is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party.

Protest Against Guilt Upon Accusation Laws in NZ — Creative Freedom Foundation (creativefreedom.org.nz)

Think it's bad in AU with our new censorship filter party? Over in NZ, any accusation of copyright infringement could lead to disconnection. "The New Zealand Internet Blackout protests against the Guilt Upon Accusation law 'Section 92A' that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny."

Effectively, Google's position was that it was above the law, and if not any law in particular, then at least the spirit of the law. Irked, I decided to find out if such a position was tenable.

"But it's not fair!" Google's paralegal protested. "What if everyone whose account was canceled sued Google?" It's a valid question. Yet until Google changes its policies to become more transparent, which might also reassure skeptics that AdWords and AdSense, which have oddly limited reporting capabilities, aren't just two sides of the same ponzi scheme (for why else would one want to terminate legitimate accounts with high monthly liabilities when they're supposed to be making money for Google on each click?)--I will give this answer: Maybe everyone whose account was canceled, should.

"But it's not fair!" Google's paralegal protested. "What if everyone whose account was canceled sued Google?"

Ms. Milani reiterated her previous arguments, but the judge didn't buy them. "I don't think I have the power here in Palo Alto small claims court to make you reinstate his account, but I think you owe this young man $721," he said finally. "I think there might be money in Google's treasury for that."

This is awesome.

An article by Mark Danner from The New York Review of Books, April 9, 2009

We think time and elections will cleanse our fallen world but they will not.

Mark Danner obtains Red Cross report on CIA Black Sites - US behavior toward detainees = "torture"

Mark Danner obtains confidential ICRC report on CIA torture.

the toread tag is becoming more aspirational all the time

Теперь не придется часами искать, какие бумажки нужно собрать, чтобы убедить чиновника поставить подпись. Ресурс АСК создан для граждан, которые сталкиваются с чиновником и не хотят платить взятку, а предпочтут быть готовыми к этой встрече заранее. Здесь находятся полезные инструкции к действию в различных ситуациях, ценные бланки документов, которые требуются для прохождения той или иной процедуры; важные законы, регулирующие деятельность государственных органов в этих случаях; столь трудно добываемые адреса, телефоны и часы различных инстанций.

Сборник инструкций по взаимодействию с различными соц. службами - милиция, военкомат, здоровье, чиновники

Есть инструкции по заполнению документов

пиздатая типографика!

We had hoped this would go differently.

April 7th, 2009 Friday evening, in a motion to dismiss Jewel v. NSA, EFF's litigation against the National Security Agency for the warrantless wiretapping of countless Americans, the Obama Administration's made two deeply troubling arguments.

Pirates of Somalia Somali pirates continue their attacks against international ships in and around the Gulf of Aden, despite the deterrent of stepped-up international naval escorts and patrols - and the increased failure rate of their attacks. Under agreements with Somalia, the U.N, and each other, ships belonging to fifteen countries now patrol the area. Somali pirates - who have won themselves nearly $200 million in ransom since early 2008 - are being captured more frequently now, and handed over to authorities in Kenya, Yemen and Somalia for trial. Collected here are some recent photos of piracy off the coast of Somalia, and the international efforts to rein it in. (30 photos total)

somali pirates.

Sélection de photos sur les pirates Somaliens qui sévissent actuellement dans le Golf d'Aden. Mais aussi des autorités internationales qui y sont basées pour les arrêter.

Somali pirates continue their attacks against international ships in and around the Gulf of Aden, despite the deterrent of stepped-up international naval escorts and patrols - and the increased failure rate of their attacks. Under agreements with Somalia, the U.N, and each other, ships belonging to fifteen countries now patrol the area. Somali pirates - who have won themselves nearly $200 million in ransom since early 2008 - are being captured more frequently now, and handed over to authorities in Kenya, Yemen and Somalia for trial. Collected here are some recent photos of piracy off the coast of Somalia, and the international efforts to rein it in. (30 photos total)

Collected here are some recent photos of piracy off the coast of Somalia, and the international efforts to rein it in.

Free term sheet generator from leading Silicon Valley law firm.

This tool will generate a venture financing term sheet based on your responses to an online questionnaire. It also has an informational component, with basic tutorials and annotations on financing terms. This term sheet generator is a modified version of a tool that we use internally, which comprises one part of a suite of document automation tools that we use to generate start-up and venture financing-related documents. Because it has been designed as a generic tool that takes into account a number of options, this version of the term sheet generator is fairly expansive and includes significantly more detail than would likely be found in a customized application.

This tool will generate a venture financing term sheet based on your responses to an online questionnaire. It also has an informational component, with basic tutorials and annotations on financing terms. This term sheet generator is a modified version of a tool that we use internally, which comprises one part of a suite of document automation tools that we use to generate start-up and venture financing-related documents. Because it has been designed as a generic tool that takes into account a number of options, this version of the term sheet generator is fairly expansive and includes significantly more detail than would likely be found in a customized application.

I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't imagining this -- a term sheet generator from Wilson Sonsini? I love it. Makes them more accessible. There are also so many "viral term sheets" out there this will be useful. Another form of thought leadership marketing.

Online Term sheet generator from Website: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati -

@SalonMedia - "The success of drug decriminalization in Portugal - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com" http://hub.tm/?LWZYD [from http://twitter.com/carreonG/statuses/1337259173]

Evaluating the policy strictly from an empirical perspective, decriminalization has been an unquestionable success, leading to improvements in virtually every relevant category and enabling Portugal to manage drug-related problems (and drug usage rates) far better than most Western nations that continue to treat adult drug consumption as a criminal offense.

Particularly in the U.S., there is still widespread support for criminalization approaches and even support for the most extreme and destructive aspects of the "War on Drugs," but, for a variety of reasons, the debate over drug policy has become far more open than ever before. Portugal's success with decriminalization is highly instructive, particularly since the impetus for it was their collective recognition in the 1990s that criminalization was failing to address -- and was almost certainly exacerbating -- their exploding, poverty-driven drug crisis. As a consensus in that country now recognizes, decriminalization is what enabled them to manage drug-related problems far more effectively than ever before, and the nightmare scenarios warned of by decriminalization opponents have, quite plainly, never materialized. The counter-productive effects of drug criminalization are at least as evident now for the U.S. as they were for pre-decriminalization Portugal. Beyond one's ideological

"Evaluating the policy strictly from an empirical perspective, decriminalization has been an unquestionable success, leading to improvements in virtually every relevant category and enabling Portugal to manage drug-related problems (and drug usage rates) far better than most Western nations that continue to treat adult drug consumption as a criminal offense."

read the actual torture memos

Torture memos 1

Top secret documents released by ACLU proving the US torutred

How to stop the drug wars

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13237193 Howtostopthedrugwars Economist 2

Well, damn. I use THREE operating systems, I must be a criminal mastermind. :P

"Aside from the remarkable overreach by campus and state police in trying to paint a student as suspicious in part because he can navigate a non-Windows computer environment, nothing cited in the warrant application could possibly constitute the cited criminal offenses."

"remarkable overreach by campus and state police in trying to paint a student as suspicious in part because he can navigate a non-Windows computer environment"

Reminds me of DC.

Stores are violating their contract with the credit card companies if they set minimum or maximum charges, or force you to show ID in addition to your credit card (with the obvious exception being for age-limited purchases). Depending on your state and your card issuer, surcharges or "convenience fees" may be banned as well. The best way to straighten these guys out is to report them to the credit card company. [US Info]

So awesome.

ant must not require, or post signs indicating that it requires, a minimum or maximum transaction ammount to accept a

Apparently it's against Visa's policy to require ID.

La idea es ingresar pequeñas cantidades de dinero, ya que el coste de gestión de éstas es muy superior a la cantidad...

Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm (aka anakata) recieved a bill for the 30 million SEK that he, along with Peter Sunde (aka brokep), Fredrik Neij (aka TiAMO), and Carl Lundstrom, was fined in the verdict of the Pirate Bay trial just over three weeks ago. The bill inspired anakata to devise a plan involving sending money to Danowsky’s law firm, but not to pay the fine of course which they say will never be payed. Anakata’s clever plan is called internet-avgift, internet-fee in English. Anakata encourages all Internet users to pay extremely small sums around 1 SEK (0.13 USD) to Danowsky’s law firm, which represented the music companies at the Pirate Bay trial. The music companies will not benefit from this, instead it will cost them money to handle and process all the money.

I can give my two cents six and a half times over! http://tinyurl.com/pbwcks [from http://twitter.com/eronarn/statuses/1767170396]

Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm (aka anakata) recieved a bill for the 30 million SEK that he, along with Peter Sunde (aka brokep), Fredrik Neij (aka

Technology | guardian.co.uk

If politicians want to effect economic recovery, national competitiveness, good public health and high civic engagement, they have a duty to keep the internet free and open. But politicians around the world seem willing to sacrifice their national interest to keep a few powerful phone and telcoms companies happy. this is like the phone company putting you on hold when your ring your local pizzeria, with a message inviting you to press one to be immediately connected to Domino's, its "preferred pizza partner".

Metering usage discourages experimentation. If you don't know whether your next click will cost you 10p or £2, you will become very conservative about your clicks. Just look at the old AOL, which charged by the minute for access...... Digital rights, digital wrongs index

Doctorow says the EU Telecoms reform package paves the way for ISPs and quangoes to block or slow access to websites and services on an arbitrary basis. Here's me thinking that one of the new rules is for authorities to set quality levels as as to promote net neutrality

Cory Doctorow: Allowing ISPs to have too much would drastically hinder the chances of fresh new startups developing into major businesses – as happened with Google

teaching copyright fair use

"EFF's Teaching Copyright curriculum was created to help teachers present the laws surrounding digital rights in a balanced way. Teaching Copyright provides lessons and ideas for opening your classroom up to discussion, letting your students express their ideas and concerns, and then guiding your students toward an understanding of the boundaries of copyright law."

There's a lot of misinformation out there about legal rights and responsibilities in the digital era. This is especially disconcerting when it comes to information being shared with youth. Kids and teens are bombarded with messages from a myriad of sources that using new technology is high-risk behavior. Downloading music is compared to stealing a bicycle — even though many downloads are lawful. Making videos using short clips from other sources is treated as probably illegal — even though many such videos are also lawful. This misinformation is harmful, because it discourages kids and teens from following their natural inclination to be innovative and inquisitive. The innovators, artists and voters of tomorrow need to know that copyright law restricts many activities but also permits many others. And they need to know the positive steps they can take to protect themselves in the digital sphere. In short, youth don't need more intimidation—what they need is solid, accurate information

EFF's Teaching Copyright curriculum was created to help teachers present the laws surrounding digital rights in a balanced way.

from EFF. Youth Curriculum

In 2001, Portugal officially abolished all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, replacing punishment for therapy. Did it work? How many people reading this article have served jail time for drug use? How many know someone who has? It's an arbitrary system, and people don't seem to respond well to systems that rely on harsh but infrequently carried out punishments to regulate behavior--as anyone who has ever spent more than two hours with a toddler has probably already figured out.

In 2001, Portugal officially abolished all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, replacing punishment for therapy. Did it work?

I'd like to see verification of this from someone other than the Cato Institute, and it's important to remember that the US =/= Portugal, but still... interesting. April 2009.

The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled.

The data show that, judged by virtually every metric, the Portuguese decriminalization framework has been a resounding success. Within this success lie self-evident lessons that should guide drug policy debates around the world.

There are more orphans than in a Dickens novel. Google won’t say how many there are. But UC Berkeley Professor Pamela Samuelson estimates that 70 percent of books that are still in copyright have rights holders that can’t be found. Copyright infringement can be expensive – up to $150,000 per violation. So if you scan an old book and start selling copies of it, or displaying chunks of it on the web, and the orphan’s father shows up one day waving a paternity test in your direction, you could face a mean copyright infringement suit. Unless you are Google: Since all U.S. book copyright holders are now plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Google gets liability protection from authors who abandoned their books by not registering in its books database. If they show up later, all they can do is collect a little cash, change their book price or ask Google to stop selling the book.

So in partnership with major university libraries, Google began scanning and digitizing millions of books in 2002, from ones like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales that are no longer copyrighted to the Harry Potter series to books whose authors and publishers cannot be located. The idea is simple, and audacious. Make the library of all libraries by converting every book ever published into an e-book that can be indexed, searched, read — and sold — online.

"The Google Book Search Settlement has been much in the news recently, with the Internet Archive, Philip K. Dick’s heirs, consumer groups and Microsoft registering their objections to the search giant’s agreement with authors and publishers. And now Justice Department anti-trust lawyers are meeting with Google about the settlement, raising the possibility of a full-blown anti-trust court showdown between the government and the world’s biggest search and advertising company."

Wired article about Google archiving books.

privacy statement, terms of service

TOSBack keeps an eye on 44 website policies. Every time one of them changes, you'll see an update here.

Great new tool from the Electronic Frontier Foundation which allows you to see when a companies online Terms of Service/Privacy Policy is changed

OSBack keeps an eye on 44 website policies. Every time one of them changes, you'll see an update here.

The Terms-Of-Service Tracker

http://bit.ly/JaQGD - Why I got rid of my last.fm account a long time ago [from http://twitter.com/jkordish/statuses/1890006181]

Deny This, Last.fm http://bit.ly/ynLdR (via TechCrunch) [from http://twitter.com/KeithDriscoll/statuses/1891459474]

A couple of months ago Erick Schonfeld wrote a post titled “Did Last.fm Just Hand Over User Listening Data To the RIAA?” based on a source that has proved to be very reliable in the past. All hell broke loose shortly thereafter

creativecommons law

"[A] detailed, customizable learning plan to help educators raise interesting questions about copyright, technology, and law . . ." -- About

no one listens

info about copyright issues

This curriculum is designed to give teachers a comprehensive set of tools to educate students about copyright while incorporating activities that exercise a variety of learning skills.

Manliness, heroes, & national character - a harrowing account of our own failures: http://tr.im/jII7 (Read 2 the end!) (via @jayrosen_nyu) [from http://twitter.com/CircleReader/statuses/1617944525]

New York Review of Books

2 of 2 essays by Mark Danner

NY Review of Books review referring to Feb 2007 Red Cross study on torture, referred to by Rahm Emanuel

Mark Danner NY Review of Books April 3009

An intersting artical about "orphan" book. Those book out-of-print but still under copyright. Most of which it is impossible to find the appropraite rights holder.

Summary of the legal and commercial implications of Google book search by Pamela Samuelson.

"The Book Search agreement is not really a settlement of a dispute over whether scanning books to index them is fair use. It is a major restructuring of the book industry’s future without meaningful government oversight. The market for digitized orphan books could be competitive, but will not be if this settlement is approved as is."

article

Google and the Book Rights Registery

"Conclusion In the short run, the Google Book Search settlement will unquestionably bring about greater access to books collected by major research libraries over the years. But it is very worrisome that this agreement, which was negotiated in secret by Google and a few lawyers working for the Authors Guild and AAP (who will, by the way, get up to $45.5 million in fees for their work on the settlement--more than all of the authors combined!), will create two complementary monopolies with exclusive rights over a research corpus of this magnitude. Monopolies are prone to engage in many abuses. The Book Search agreement is not really a settlement of a dispute over whether scanning books to index them is fair use. It is a major restructuring of the book industry's future without meaningful government oversight. The market for digitized orphan books could be competitive, but will not be if this settlement is approved as is."

Maira Kalman of the N.Y. Times "And the Pursuit of Happiness" delivers a kind of art essay on the law and the court system. Hard to explain, but looks very cool.

Really interesting presentation of an interview with justice of the Supreme Court of the US and inspiration for feminism (and everyone, I believe)

Awesome illustrations re: the supreme court and women in US history

"And then I meet Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I think, move over Jane Austen as my imaginary Best Friend Forever."

Tales from the encrypt: If you care about the integrity of your data, it's time to investigate solutions for accessing and securing it – and not just for the here and now

"But what if I were killed or incapacitated before I managed to hand the passphrase over to an executor or solicitor who could use them to unlock all this stuff that will be critical to winding down my affairs – or keeping them going, in the event that I'm incapacitated? I don't want to simply hand the passphrase over to my wife, or my lawyer. Partly that's because the secrecy of a passphrase known only to one person and never written down is vastly superior to the secrecy of a passphrase that has been written down and stored in more than one place. Further, many countries's laws make it difficult or impossible for a court to order you to turn over your keys; once the passphrase is known by a third party, its security from legal attack is greatly undermined, as the law generally protects your knowledge of someone else's keys to a lesser extent than it protects your own."

"What this tool can do for you: Help you better understand how to determine the "fairness" of a use under the U.S. Copyright Code. Collect, organize & archive the information you might need to support a fair use evaluation. Provide you with a time-stamped, PDF document for your records [example], which could prove valuable, should you ever be asked by a copyright holder to provide your fair use evaluation and the data you used to support it. [why is this important?] Provide access to educational materials, external copyright resources, and contact information for copyright help at local & national levels."

What this tool can do for you: * Help you better understand how to determine the "fairness" of a use under the U.S. Copyright Code. * Collect, organize & archive the information you might need to support a fair use evaluation. * Provide you with a time-stamped, PDF document for your records [example], which could prove valuable, should you ever be asked by a copyright holder to provide your fair use evaluation and the data you used to support it. [why is this important?] * Provide access to educational materials, external copyright resources, and contact information for copyright help at local & national levels. What this tool cannot do for you: * This tool does not provide legal advice. It records the information you provide it as well as your own judgment on the fairness of the use. See the tool [disclaimer] for more information. * Only a court of law can definitively rule on whether a use is fair or unfair. This tool does not assume or predict a court outc

This tool does not provide legal advice. It records the information you provide it as well as your own judgment on the fairness of the use.

What this tool can do for you: * Help you better understand how to determine the "fairness" of a use under the U.S. Copyright Code. * Collect, organize & archive the information you might need to support a fair use evaluation. * Provide you with a time-stamped, PDF document for your records [example], which could prove valuable, should you ever be asked by a copyright holder to provide your fair use evaluation and the data you used to support it. [why is this important?] * Provide access to educational materials, external copyright resources, and contact information for copyright help at local & national levels.

From ALA OITP

The International Free and Open Source Software Law Review (IFOSS L. Rev.) is a collaborative legal publication aiming to increase knowledge and understanding among lawyers about Free and Open Source Software issues. Topics covered include copyright, licence implementation, licence interpretation, software patents, open standards, case law and statutory changes.

Open source law journal

August 7

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."

Via Marignal Revolution (it has a blog)

What do you think are the odds that you will die during the next year? Try to put a number to it — 1 in 100? 1 in 10,000? Whatever it is, it will be twice as large 8 years from now. This startling fact was first noticed by the British actuary Benjamin Gompertz in 1825 and is now called the “Gompertz Law of human mortality.”

GPL FAQ

President Obama reportedly gave an iPod, loaded with 40 show tunes, to England's Queen Elizabeth II as a gift. Did he violate the law when he did so? You know your copyright laws are broken when there is no easy answer to this question.

President Obama reportedly gave an iPod, loaded with 40 show tunes, to England's Queen Elizabeth II as a gift. Did he violate the law when he did so?

iPods, First Sale, President Obama, and the Queen of England | Electronic Frontier Foundation

RT @nitot: Obama a acheté de la musique et donné un iPod à la reine d'angleterre. C'est un pirate ! http://tinyurl.com/cob9jm [from http://twitter.com/hvaudaux/statuses/1444222097]

Obama's "hip" gift to the Queen raises some interesting questions and points to a need for more discussion on the topic of what's really copyright infringement.

President Obama reportedly gave an iPod, loaded with 40 show tunes, to England's Queen Elizabeth II as a gift. Did he violate the law when he did so? You know your copyright laws are broken when there is no easy answer to this question.

I hate the term 'assisted suicide'. I have witnessed the aftermath of two suicides, and as a journalist I attended far too many coroners' inquests, where I was amazed and appalled at the many ways that desperate people find to end their lives. Suicide is fear, shame, despair and grief. It is madness. Those brave souls lately seeking death abroad seem to me, on the other hand, to be gifted with a furious sanity. They have seen their future, and they don't want to be part of it.

Terry Pratchett's thoughts on assisted suicide.

Must make a copy of this.

Moving!

Sir Terry Pratchett has made an emotional plea for the right to take his own life, saying: 'I live in hope I can jump before I am pushed.'

I wrote earlier today about Holder's decision to "review" whether criminal prosecutions are warranted in connection with the torture of Terrorism suspects -- that can be read here -- but I want to write separately about the release today of the 2004 CIA's Inspector General Report (.pdf), both because it's extraordinary in its own right and because it underscores how unjust it would be to prosecute only low-level interrogators rather than the high-level officials who implemented the torture regime. Initially, it should be emphasized that yet again, it is not the Congress or the establishment media which is uncovering these abuses and forcing disclosure of government misconduct. Rather, it is the ACLU (with which I consult) that, along with other human rights organizations, has had to fill the void left by those failed institutions, using their own funds to pursue litigation to compel disclosure. Without their efforts, we would know vastly less than we know now about the crimes

The Report highlights how depraved were the interrogation practices - and how unjust it is to immunize U.S. leaders.

The Report highlights how depraved were the interrogation practices - and how unjust it is to immunize U.S. leaders

Are tweets copyrightable? This article by Brock Shinen who is a business, intellectual property and entertainment attorney argues that it isn't IF the content that you post via Twitter was not copyrighted to begin with. Facts are not copyrightable. There is also the amount of content that you take from an original work that plays an importance.

A seriously good article on whether you can copyright tweets. Short answer: no.

Short answer: no, with a but; long answer: yes, with a maybe.

'Many people believe they own everything they post online, be it Tweets, Facebook status, or whatever. The truth is that most people are most likely incorrect in their assumption.'

Can you copyright tweets?

A new campaign for photographers rights. Mapping, reporting and fighting back against restrictions on photography in the UK

Helpful summary of consumer protections in the UK. Plenty more to know, but this bare-bones summary is a great start.

Orrick's Start-Up Tool Kit is a comprehensive set of resources designed to aid start-ups and their founders on the journey from the "garage" to the global marketplace. Use our Start-Up Tool Kit to memorialize agreements with co-founders or potential investors, understand the terms and terminology of key legal documents, and network and learn business strategy and the latest industry news.

Some invaluable resources for anyone preparing to start their own business.

Is there such a thing as too founder friendly?

TheFunded.com: Complete Set of Founder Friendly Legal Docs

2009-10-06

a model's proportions appear to have been altered to give her an impossibly skinny body ("Dude, her head's bigger than her pelvis"). Naturally, Xeni reproduced the ad in question. This is classic fair use: a reproduction "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting," etc.

Fuck Ralph Lauren - I'm drinking, no more insight

high priority

Applause For Finland: First Country To Make Broadband Access A Legal Right http://bit.ly/aQmc6 (via @synopsi, @janrosa, @ScienceIreland) [from http://twitter.com/matushiq/statuses/4863041209]

Starting July 2010, every person in Finland will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection as an intermediate step, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications. By the end of 2015, the legal right will be extended to an impressive 100 Mb broadband connection for everyone.

Kudos to the Finnish government, which has just introduced laws guaranteeing broadband access to every person living in Finland (5.5 million people, give or take). This is reportedly a first worldwide. Starting July 2010, every person in Finland will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection as an intermediate step, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications. By the end of 2015, the legal right will be extended to an impressive 100 Mb broadband connection for everyone.

for presentation

Go Finland: First Country To Make Broadband Access A Legal Right http://ow.ly/uIHE [from http://twitter.com/barbhd34/statuses/4908282395]

Broadband Access a Legal Right in Finland...http://tiny.cc/aytXA [from http://twitter.com/matebestek/statuses/4898523869]

RT @featureBlend: Secret copyright treaty leaks. It's bad. Very bad. http://j.mp/q0guK [from http://twitter.com/cyberdad/statuses/5427335635]

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says: * * That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability. * * That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel. * * That the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules t

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says: * * That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability. * * That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.

個人情報なので出せない、という人に対しては、「プロバイダ責任制限法案があるので、明確な理由がある限り、開示者の責任は問われない」ということをしっかりと教えてあげましょう

Copyright Watch, hosted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is designed for the purposes of sharing and comparing the copyright laws of countries around the world. As the world has become connected through the Internet the creation and global sharing of content has become very easy. At the same time the misuse of copyrighted content has become easier too. Sometimes copyright violations may be the result of conflicting copyright laws. Copyright Watch aims to provide a place where copyright laws can be compared and changes to copyright laws can be updated. Applications for Education Copyright Watch could be useful for teaching about the differences between copyright laws. Copyright Watch might also be useful as a part of a discussion about the purpose of copyright laws.

Copyright Watch collects and monitors copyright laws from all over the world.

Global Transparency in Copyright Law. "Copyright Watch was begun by an international group of copyright experts, drawn from the Access to Knowledge community. We’d like to thank Corporacion Innovarte, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL.net), the International Federation of Library Associations, Professor Michael Geist, the Third World Network, and the Bangalore Centre for Internet and Society for their support."

Fabulous website to checkout if you are unsure of what copyright laws exist in which countries?

ISPs may not act for years on local complaints about slow Internet—but when a town rolls out its own solution, it's amazing how fast the incumbents can deploy fiber, cut prices, and run to the legislature.

"ISPs may not act for years on local complaints about slow Internet—but when a town rolls out its own solution, it's amazing how fast the incumbents can deploy fiber, cut prices, and run to the legislature."

Leet, leet, leet. Would have been awesome if they could prevail against TDS.

Minnesota town wants fast fiber broadband to the curb. Cable internet monopoly refuses. Town passes a referendum funding construction of a municipally owned network. Cable company sues town frivolously in order to delay construction of said network, and installs its own first. What a crock of monopolistic bull. This kind of crap is why we don't have fiber to the door.

Regional telco TDS Telecommunications last week issued a press release announcing a major milestone for the company: 50Mbps service over fiber optic cable to residents of Monticello, Minnesota. The Minneapolis suburb became one of the few non-FiOS communities in the country to experience full fiber-to-the-home deployment, and subscribers will all receive a free upgrade from 25Mbps service to the new 50Mbps tier

Kerlikowske Says Analogy Is Counterproductive; Shift Aligns With Administration Preference for Treatment Over Incarceration

May article about the Obama administration's approach to drugs and the criminal justice system

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting "a war on drugs," a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use. In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation's drug issues. "Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he said. "We're not at war with people in this country."

@wsj - "White House Czar Calls for End to 'War on Drugs' - WSJ.com" http://hub.tm/?jmjSY [from http://twitter.com/carreonG/statuses/1794610123]

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting "a war on drugs," a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use. In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation's drug issues.

This Is Yer Brain On War

"Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he said. "We're not at war with people in this country."

"I’m simply explaining why I’m not embarrassed that I 'owe' Warner Bros. almost $400,000. They didn’t make a lot of money off of Too Much Joy. But they didn’t lose any, either. So whenever you hear some label flak claiming 98% of the bands they sign lose money for the company, substitute the phrase 'just don’t earn enough' for the word 'lose.'"

A great post from a musician's perspective on digital royalties for recording artists. Lots of insight here. The bottom line is that, moving forward, there has to be absolute and real-time transparency in royalties for artists and authors.

So I was naively excited when I opened the envelope. And my answer was right there on the first page. In five years, our three albums earned us a grand total of… $62.47

So I was naively excited when I opened the envelope. And my answer was right there on the first page. In five years, our three albums earned us a grand total of… $62.47 What the fuck? I mean, we all know that major labels are supposed to be venal masters of hiding money from artists, but they’re also supposed to be good at it, right? This figure wasn’t insulting because it was so small, it was insulting because it was so stupid.

I got something in the mail last week I’d been wanting for years: a Too Much Joy royalty statement from Warner Brothers that finally included our digital earnings. Though our catalog has been out of print physically since the late-1990s, the three albums we released on Giant/WB have been available digitally for about five years. Yet the royalty statements I received every six months kept insisting we had zero income, and our unrecouped balance ($395,277.18!)* stubbornly remained the same.

A rant on recouping an artist's repayment. Talks about revenue earned from digital sales.

Pirate Bay Witness’ Wife Overwhelmed With Flowers

When Professor and media researcher Roger Wallis left the stand yesterday, the court asked whether he wanted to be reimbursed for his appearance. “You are welcome to send some flowers to my wife,” he responded. In the hours that followed, many Pirate Bay supporters took this suggestion to hand.

Thus far, in an amazing show of generosity from a section of society labeled by the music industry as ‘thieves’, more than 4100 Euros worth of flowers, chocolate and gifts have been sent to the couple.

Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Ftorrentfreak.com%2Fpirate-bay-witness-wife-overwhelmed-with-flowers-090227

Them people from the internet, they're not that bad actually.

The Truth Behind Real CSI Evidence - Popular Mechanics

As DNA testing has made it possible to re-examine biological evidence from past trials, more than 200 people have had their convictions overturned. In approximately 50 percent of those cases, bad forensic analysis contributed to their imprisonment.

Forensic science was not developed by scientists. It was mostly created by cops, who were guided by little more than common sense. And as hundreds of criminal cases begin to unravel, many established forensic practices are coming under fire. PM takes an in-depth look at the shaky science that has put innocent people behind bars.

(edit this later)

Law professor Charles Nesson and John Palfrey, director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society (which Nesson co-founded), made their position clear. "Recently, the president of the Recording Industry Association of America, Cary Sherman, wrote to Harvard to challenge the university administration to stop acting as a 'passive conduit' for students downloading music," they wrote in 2007. "We agree. Harvard and the 22 universities to which the RIAA has sent 'pre-litigation notices' ought to take strong, direct action... and tell the RIAA to take a hike."

Nesson & Co.

"Recently, the president of the Recording Industry Association of America, Cary Sherman, wrote to Harvard to challenge the university administration to stop acting as a 'passive conduit' for students downloading music," they wrote in 2007. "We agree. Harvard and the 22 universities to which the RIAA has sent 'pre-litigation notices' ought to take strong, direct action... and tell the RIAA to take a hike."

In retrospect, Harvard's eventual involvement was obvious. As far back as 2007, we noted that RIAA prelitigation letters had yet to be sent to Harvard, and one reason for that may have been the quite public opposition of Harvard Law School to the entire RIAA legal campaign.

NDA vs. FrienDA - Just stumbled upon this fun idea by @rands / http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2008/10/19/friendda.html [from http://twitter.com/tadej/statuses/988978156]

But I want Phil to know that what I want to chat about is more than our average conversation. I want slightly more than a smidge of ceremony before I spill the beans about my bright idea and I call this ceremony the FriendDA. The FriendDA is a non-binding, warm blanket agreement that offers absolutely no legal protection. I’d suggest if the idea of legal protection is even crossing your mind that the FriendDA is totally inappropriate for your current needs.

Includes occasional library jobs dealing with copyright or licensing.

Blog by Lesley Ellen Harris who focuses on copyright and its impact on libraries and is a frequent contributor to listservs and SLA.

Copyright blog

Many people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug. The actual story shows a much different picture. Those who voted on the legal fate of this plant never had the facts, but were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda to deceive lawmakers. You'll see below that the very first federal vote to prohibit marijuana was based entirely on a documented lie on the floor of the Senate. You'll also see that the history of marijuana's criminalization is filled with: * Racism * Fear * Protection of Corporate Profits * Yellow Journalism * Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators * Personal Career Advancement and Greed These are the actual reasons marijuana is illegal.

important and relevant history everyone should know

WOW. As a library worker, I find this to be appalling...

"The New Book Banning" - can childrens books pre-1985 give lead poisoning? ( http://bit.ly/6wcqH ) [from http://twitter.com/aphofer/statuses/3149346529]

It’s hard to believe, but true: under a law Congress passed last year aimed at regulating hazards in children’s products, the federal government has now advised that children’s books published before 1985 should not be considered safe and may in many cases be unlawful to sell or distribute. Merchants, thrift stores, and booksellers may be at risk if they sell older volumes, or even give them away, without first subjecting them to testing—at prohibitive expense. Many used-book sellers, consignment stores, Goodwill outlets, and the like have accordingly begun to refuse new donations of pre-1985 volumes, yank existing ones off their shelves, and in some cases discard them en masse.

eRecht24.de Portal zum Internetrecht von Rechtsanwalt Soeren Siebert

Impressum, Rechtssicherheit,

Erstellen Sie anhand Ihrer Vorgaben kostenlos ein individuelles Impressum und minimieren Sie so das Risiko, abgemahnt zu werden!

Jim Webb doing something decent.

criminal justice

Draeger, the manufacturer maintained that the system was perfect, and that revealing the source code would be damaging to its business. They were right about the second part, of course, because it turned out that the code was terrible.

A small note on how important it is to have access to the software we use in the the judicial system

"Draeger, the manufacturer maintained that the system was perfect, and that revealing the source code would be damaging to its business. They were right about the second part, of course, because it turned out that the code was terrible."

People surely are going to sue for this

The Startup Lawyer gives some advice

Issue list for launching a startup company

Note: March 24, 2010 - Cambridge, Mass., and Rome, Italy - The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University today announced the launch of a new online, open access curriculum, “Copyright for Librarians” (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/copyrightforlibrarians/ <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/copyrightforlibrarians/> ), developed in conjunction with eIFL.net. “Copyright for Librarians” aims to inform librarians about copyright law in general, as well as the aspects of copyright law that most affect libraries, especially those in developing and transition countries.

Copyright for Librarians online course

Modules for self-directed study of copyright for librarians.

Copyright for Librarians is a joint project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL), a consortium of libraries from 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. The goal of the project is to provide librarians in developing and transitional countries information concerning copyright law.

Module based course for librarians and other educators created by Harverd and eIFL

More specifically, it aspires to inform librarians concerning: * copyright law in general * the aspects of copyright law that most affect libraries * how librarians in the future could most effectively participate in the processes by which copyright law is interpreted and shaped.

David Frum

I can only hope both sides can start to find more value in the middle. Both edges scare me.

A huge part of the blame for today’s disaster attaches to conservatives and Republicans ourselves. At the beginning of this process we made a strategic decision: unlike, say, Democrats in 2001 when President Bush proposed his first tax cut, we would make no deal with the administration. No negotiations, no compromise, nothing. We were going for all the marbles. This would be Obama’s Waterloo – just as healthcare was Clinton’s in 1994. Only, the hardliners overlooked a few key facts: Obama was elected with 53% of the vote, not Clinton’s 42%. The liberal block within the Democratic congressional caucus is bigger and stronger than it was in 1993-94. And of course the Democrats also remember their history, and also remember the consequences of their 1994 failure. This time, when we went for all the marbles, we ended with none.

but what is equally true – is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans succeed – if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive compromises out of office – Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber beds.

See subsequent followup link...

THIS IS REALLY REALLY GOOD.

The wrong policy? (Via Daring Fireball: http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/04/20/pot-alcohol ).

'nuff said

The Bush administration's Torture 13. They authorized it, they decided how to implement it, and they crafted the legal fig leaf to justify it. (...) Some of the 13 manipulated the federal bureaucracy and the legal process to "preauthorize" torture in the days after 9/11. Others helped implement torture, and still others helped write the memos that provided the Bush administration with a legal fig leaf after torture had already begun.

"The Bush administration's Torture 13. They authorized it, they decided how to implement it, and they crafted the legal fig leaf to justify it."

RT @HoneyBearKelly The 13 people who made torture possible. http://tinyurl.com/pxqurs Marcy Wheeler is doing such a great job. [from http://twitter.com/thejoshuablog/statuses/1860684718]

Disclosure and the web.

Good article on corporate disclosure and social media

Yes.

1-cnn marijuana

Over the past two years, drug violence in Mexico has become a fixture of the daily news. Some of this violence pits drug cartels against one another; some involves confrontations between law enforcement and traffickers. Recent estimates suggest thousands have lost their lives in this "war on drugs." The U.S. and Mexican responses to this violence have been predictable: more troops and police, greater border controls and expanded enforcement of every kind. Escalation is the wrong response, however; drug prohibition is the cause of the violence. Prohibition creates violence because it drives the drug market underground. This means buyers and sellers cannot resolve their disputes with lawsuits, arbitration or advertising, so they resort to violence instead.

Prohibition of drugs corrupts politicians and law enforcement by putting police, prosecutors, judges and politicians in the position to threaten the profits of an illicit trade. This is why bribery, threats and kidnapping are common for prohibited industries but rare otherwise. Mexico's recent history illustrates this dramatically. Prohibition erodes protections against unreasonable search and seizure because neither party to a drug transaction has an incentive to report the activity to the police. Thus, enforcement requires intrusive tactics such as warrantless searches or undercover buys. The victimless nature of this so-called crime also encourages police to engage in racial profiling.

Eric

If you care about the future of books, you need to understand the Google Book Settlement. It's a complicated legal document, but we've talked to some of its architects, detractors, and defenders - and break it all down for you.

Understanding Google Books Copyright Settlement

Good, long article.

5 Ways The Google Book Settlement Will Change The Future of Reading: http://bit.ly/cAirab – Evgenia Firsova (diffidence) http://twitter.com/diffidence/statuses/12493469991

Het zat er al een tijdje aan te komen maar op 1 juli is het zover. Op die datum wordt namelijk de nieuwe wetgeving rondom e-mailcommunicatie effectief. In dit artikel zetten we op een rij wat dit voor jouw organisatie betekent en wat je moet doen om aan deze wetgeving te voldoen.

Fulbright and Hogan & Hartson

"John Roberts: The Supreme Court’s stealth hard-liner." (by Jeffrey Toobin)

John Roberts and conservative activism

No More Mr. Nice Guy The Supreme Court’s stealth hard-liner. by Jeffrey Toobin

So much for candor at confirmation hearings.

When John G. Roberts, Jr., emerges from behind the red curtains and takes his place in the middle of the Supreme Court bench, he usually wears a pair of reading glasses, which he peers over to see the lawyers arguing before him. It’s an old-fashioned look for the Chief Justice of the United States, who is fifty-four, but, even with the glasses, there’s no mistaking that Roberts is the youngest person on the Court. (John Paul Stevens, the senior Associate Justice, who sits to Roberts’s right, is thirty-five years older.) Roberts’s face is unlined, his shoulders are broad and athletic, and only a few wisps of gray hair mark him as changed in any way from the judge who charmed the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing, in 2005.

Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Freporting%2F2009%2F05%2F25%2F090525fa_fact_toobin

"In every major case since he became the nation’s seventeenth Chief Justice, Roberts has sided with the prosecution over the defendant, the state over the condemned, the executive branch over the legislative, and the corporate defendant over the individual plaintiff. Even more than Scalia, who has embodied judicial conservatism during a generation of service on the Supreme Court, Roberts has served the interests, and reflected the values, of the contemporary Republican Party."

He describes body searches undertaken for no legitimate security purpose, simply to sexually invade and humiliate the prisoners. This was a standardized Bush Administration tactic–the importance of which became apparent to me when I participated in some Capitol Hill negotiations with White House representatives relating to legislation creating criminal law accountability for contractors. The Bush White House vehemently objected to provisions of the law dealing with rape by instrumentality. When House negotiators pressed to know why, they were met first with silence and then an embarrassed acknowledgement that a key part of the Bush program included invasion of the bodies of prisoners in a way that might be deemed rape by instrumentality under existing federal and state criminal statutes. While these techniques have long been known, the role of health care professionals in implementing them is shocking.

Harper's Magazine

Army Private Brandon Neely

It only took a few paragraphs in a $500 billion, 591-page bill to raze one of the most important limits on federal power. Congress passed the Insurrection Act in 1807 to severely restrict the president's ability to deploy the military within the United States. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 tightened these restrictions, imposing a two-year prison sentence on anyone who used the military within the U.S. without the express permission of Congress. But there is a loophole: Posse Comitatus is waived if the president invokes the Insurrection Act.

For the first time in 100 years, and contrary to a long-standing legal prohibition, an active duty military unit is permanently assigned inside the U.S.

2008/09/24

The popularity and near necessity of social media sites has grown tremendously in the last few years, helping small businesses make connections, giving freelancers and students the chance to network with people they’d never be able to meet otherwise, and allow a place for all kinds of interest groups to chat and make friends online–from gardeners to book lovers to sports junkies. There is a dangerous and corrupt side to social media creators and users; however, and the ability to create fake profiles and violate privacy and copyright rules is still more than possible. Read below for 25 of the most shocking crimes in social media history.

los mas famosos ccrimenes de la historia

Twitter highjacking

From fake profiles to privacy violation and copyright rules

Chrome process model

pending sect. 2 & 3

Nice flow chart for the Bill to Law process

read it

It's not just a matter of just "picking Theora" to export a video to Youtube and be clear of any litigation. MPEG-LA's trick runs way deeper! The [street-smart] people at MPEG-LA have made sure that from the moment we use a camera or camcorder to shoot an mpeg2 (e.g. HDV cams) or h.264 video (e.g. digicams, HD dSLRs, AVCHD cams), we owe them royalties, even if the final video distributed was not encoded using their codecs! Let me show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

We've all heard how the h.264 is rolled over on patents and royalties. Even with these facts, I kept supporting the best-performing "delivery" codec in the market, which is h.264. "Let the best win", I kept thinking. But it wasn't until very recently when I was made aware that the problem is way deeper. No, my friends. It's not just a matter of just "picking Theora" to export a video to Youtube and be clear of any litigation. MPEG-LA's trick runs way deeper! The [street-smart] people at MPEG-LA have made sure that from the moment we use a camera or camcorder to shoot an mpeg2 (e.g. HDV cams) or h.264 video (e.g. digicams, HD dSLRs, AVCHD cams), we owe them royalties, even if the final video distributed was not encoded using their codecs! Let me show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

This is an alarming notice about the licensing fine print of "open" video codec for h.264. It's open, but only under certain circumstances. Use it commercially? Pay money.

This is F*CKING UN-BE-LIEV-ABLE!! How the MPEG-LA has a foot in the door to ALL our self-filmed documents...

"We've all heard how the h.264 is rolled over on patents and royalties. Even with these facts, I kept supporting the best-performing "delivery" codec in the market, which is h.264. "Let the best win", I kept thinking. But it wasn't until very recently when I was made aware that the problem is way deeper. No, my friends. It's not just a matter of just "picking Theora" to export a video to Youtube and be clear of any litigation. MPEG-LA's trick runs way deeper!..."

Money quote: "The absence of any mention of copyright law in Glee illustrates a painful tension in American culture. While copyright holders assert that copyright violators are “stealing” their “property,” people everywhere are remixing and recreating artistic works for the very same reasons the Glee kids do — to learn about themselves, to become better musicians, to build relationships with friends, and to pay homage to the artists who came before them."

"The fictional high school chorus at the center of Fox’s Glee has a huge problem — nearly a million dollars in potential legal liability. For a show that regularly tackles thorny issues like teen pregnancy and alcohol abuse, it’s surprising that a million dollars worth of lawbreaking would go unmentioned." This is a very interesting look at the frequency with which this show (that I have never seen) addresses copyright issues without actually addressing copyright issues. And it's dead-on about the potential for a television show or other media of this popularity to effect social change in the realm of copyright perception.

Glee Club apparent disregard for copyright

Copyright: The Elephant in the Middle of the Glee Club

Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture http://bit.ly/cB8z8x

TED video

Selling geek t-shirts, mugs, ties, high caffeine products, and many other gifts for programmers, linux hackers, and open source geeks.

Pork board sends C&D to ThinkGeek for April Fools joke product. Now THAT is an April Fool's joke!

This post was originally part of my “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). Below is a longer, more comprehensive version — with ten mistakes, instead of six. Question My buddy and I are coding up a new site and we will be ready to launch the beta in about a month. We have a couple of angel investors who are interested, and we don’t want to screw anything up. What are the biggest mistakes that you’ve seen guys like us make? Answer

This post was originally part of my “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs).  Below is a longer, more comprehensive version — with ten mistakes, instead of six.

From day one, Mark Zuckerberg wanted Facebook to become a social utility. He succeeded. Facebook is now a utility for many. The problem with utilities is that they get regulated

Brilliant insight. RT @jangles: More on Facebook: reading @zephoria 's thought-provoking "Facebook is a utility" http://is.gd/cb5ij [from http://twitter.com/PaulSweeney/statuses/14083869118]

"Facebook speaks of itself as a utility while also telling people they have a choice. But there’s a conflict here. We know this conflict deeply in the United States. When it comes to utilities like water, power, sewage, Internet, etc., I am constantly told that I have a choice. But like hell I’d choose Comcast if I had a choice. Still, I subscribe to Comcast. Begrudgingly. Because the “choice” I have is Internet or no Internet. I hate all of the utilities in my life. Venomous hatred. And because they’re monopolies, they feel no need to make me appreciate them. Cuz they know that I’m not going to give up water, power, sewage, or the Internet out of spite. Nor will most people give up Facebook, regardless of how much they grow to hate them."

"I hate all of the utilities in my life. Venomous hatred. And because they’re monopolies, they feel no need to make me appreciate them. Cuz they know that I’m not going to give up water, power, sewage, or the Internet out of spite. Nor will most people give up Facebook, regardless of how much they grow to hate them."

Facebook & Radical Transparency http://bit.ly/9eVJMe, a rant by @zephoria, with a follow-up http://bit.ly/b69GjU [from http://twitter.com/CircleReader/statuses/14075940793]

A few weeks ago, an Illinois judge rejected a motion to dismiss an eavesdropping charge against Christopher Drew, who recorded his own arrest for selling one-dollar artwork on the streets of Chicago. Although the misdemeanor charges of not having a peddler's license and peddling in a prohibited area were dropped, Drew is being prosecuted for illegal recording, a Class I felony punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison.

In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer. Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists. The legal justification for arresting the "shooter" rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested.

Interesting governmental site dealing with freedom (of the use of music potentially)

Web para eliminar leyes innecesarias

^CK HMG using an off the shelf crowd-sourcing package.

This site gives you the chance to tell us which laws and regulations you think we should get rid of.

@nick_clegg et al really cracking down on new/duplicate websites http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/ http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk/

Interesting governmental site dealing with freedom (of the use of music potentially)

Web para eliminar leyes innecesarias

^CK HMG using an off the shelf crowd-sourcing package.

This site gives you the chance to tell us which laws and regulations you think we should get rid of.

@nick_clegg et al really cracking down on new/duplicate websites http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/ http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk/

@jasongreen she might have mentioned it, but the rule says nothing about it http://www.copyright.gov/1201/ – Ira Socol (irasocol) http://twitter.com/irasocol/statuses/19610158731

@budtheteacher http://www.copyright.gov/1201/ – Meredith (msstewart) http://twitter.com/msstewart/statuses/19607502254

Statement of the Librarian of Congress on the Anticircumvention Rulemaking: Text

Jailbreaking and bypassing DVD CSS DRM is now legal for fair use purposes Rulemaking on Exemptions from Prohibition on Circumvention of Technological Measures that Control Access to Copyrighted Works

The Librarian of Congress has announced the classes of works subject to the exemption from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. Persons making noninfringing uses of the following six classes of works will not be subject to the prohibition against circumventing access controls (17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1)) until the conclusion of the next rulemaking.

Hey @Canada_Gov I think you should read this -> DMCA exemptions now make it legal to rip DVDs for education http://bit.ly/5zLPnr