January 2012
Dear Politicians, Stop Supporting Laws You Don't... →
Another bill which would have violated the civil liberties of many—Hawaii’sH.B. 2288 Internet Dossier bill—has been pulled off the table following public outrage. And for good reason; the law would have tracked every website Hawaiians visited, and liked that browsing history to a name and address. It opened the door to profound first and fourth amendment violations. But worst of all, it...
Polish Politicians Don Anonymous Masks To Protest... →
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA to its friends, is coming under fire in the EU from those who fear it will lead to online censorship. But it’s recieved particular attention from the public of Poland, and that’s been reflected by some of the nation’s politicians. More »
The FBI Is Already Getting Sued for Shutting Down... →
Well that didn’t take long. Pirate Parties International is assembling a list of users who had lost data in MU’s shutdown last week as it builds a case for an upcoming lawsuit against the Feds. More »
EU ACTA Chief Resigns In Disgust Over Disrespect... →
From the website of La Quadrature, which quotes and translatesNumérama interviewing Kader Arif, former rapporteur for ACTA:
”I want to denounce in the strongest possible manner the entire process that led to the signature of this agreement: no inclusion of civil society organisations, a lack of transparency from the start of the negotiations, repeated postponing of the signature of the text...
The Copyright Industry: A Century Of Deceit →
“The past 100 years have seen a vast array of technical advances in broadcasting, multiplication and transmissions of culture, but equally much misguided legislators who sought to preserve the old at expense of the new, just because the old was complaining. First, let’s take a look at what the copyright industry tried to ban and outlaw, or at least receive taxpayer money in compensation for...
Facebook 'protected by own users' →
Facebook has “an 800 million-strong Neighbourhood Watch system” to protect against people carrying out malicious acts, the Leveson Inquiry hears…
ACTA Signed By 22 EU Countries →
Pirate Party Releases Book of Pirate Politics →
“If the SOPA/PIPA blackouts were a wakeup call to many people, then the U.S. Pirate Party has released a book that might help explain some of the issues. The book covers issues such as Corporate Personhood, the 4th Amendment, the history of copyright, and how DRM laws are made. There are even cartoons from Nina Paley throughout to add a bit of humor. DRM-free eBook versions are available to...
Julian Assange To Host Talk Show →
“Julian Assange has announced he will host a talk show: ‘Through this series I will explore the possibilities for our future in conversations with those who are shaping it,’ Assange said in his announcement late Monday. ‘Are we heading towards utopia or dystopia, and how we can set our paths? This is an exciting opportunity to discuss the vision of my guests in a new style...
Anti-Piracy Warnings Have No Effect on iTunes... →
EMI Boss Opposes SOPA, Says Piracy is a Service... →
Davis’ take on the piracy problem stands in clear contrast with the policy of the RIAA, who tend to prefer the repressive approach over innovation. Defining piracy as a service issue, however, is in line with the things we, and many others with us, have been saying for years…
La incorporación de ALFIN como servicio... →
Copyright, Patent Monopolies Are Immoral... →
“Need software to bring your business and government operations into the 21st century? Sure, if you’ll pay three times the per-capita income for a copy, and support contract, and forget about distributing it to each office that needs it…”
Sir Tim Berners-Lee Speaks Out On SOPA →
“Father of the web Sir Tim Berners-Lee called for Americans to protest SOPA and PIPA, laws he says violate human rights and are unfit for a democratic country. Sir Tim’s condemnation came on the day an editorial in Australia’s leading broadsheet newspapers pointed out that although the laws ostensibly applied to U.S. interests they could overreach to impact those in other...
Why SOPA Is Going to Screw Us All: The Video... →
This is a great short documentary explaining what’s SOPA and PIPA in a very clear, simple way. It also explains why they will screw us all if we let Congress to approve this law. You should watch it. More »
Police Investigate Offensive Wi-Fi Network Name →
“Police in Teaneck, New Jersey, with apparently too much time on their hands, are investigating an offensive wireless network name. Although the police didn’t reveal the name, the New York Daily News reports that it was anti-Semitic and racist in nature. The incident is being investigated as a possible ‘bias crime.’ It’s definitely not what proper people do, but a...
While House Petitioned to Investigate MPAA Bribery →
“Some technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns,” Dodd said.
Then, a few days later when many lawmakers had already dropped their support for the anti-piracy bills, the MPAA’s comments turned even more grim. Talking to Fox News, the MPAA’s boss threatened to stop contributing to politicians who don’t back legislation...
It's Dangerous To Go Alone [Note] →
Take One | Spotted by thejesus. (Photo: peekeep)
More »
ESA Drops SOPA Support, Video Game Lobby Laments... →
The Entertainment Software Association no longer supports the Stop Online Piracy Act, the controversial anti-piracy bill that was shelved earlier today in the House of Representatives after a week of fierce online protests. More »
How to Make an iPad Textbook in Under Five Minutes... →
iBooks Author, Apple’s new iPad textbook maker, is purported to be so easy to use that [insert stupid animate object here] could go and make one. So we figured we’d try our hand at it. Even if we won’t win any education or design awards, making a three page book was a walk in the park. More »
Anonymous Goes on Megaupload Revenge Spree: DoJ,... →
Anonymous has sure been quiet lately, but today’s federal bust of Megaupload riled ‘em up good: a retaliatory strike against DoJ.gov (and plenty of other foes) leaving them completely dead. More »
Congress Is Crawling out of the Woodwork to Oppose... →
See? Congress does listen to the will of the people on occasion—especially when that will is wielded as a blunt instrument. As this infographic fromProPublica illustrates, yesterday’s blackout protests not only culled the official SOPA supporters by 15 congressmen, it actually added 70 opponents. More »
Iranian Programmer Sentenced to Death for... →
While we’re all up in arms over SOPA and PIPA, the government of Iran continues to monitor its citizen’s Internet access. The government has gone so far as to sentence a programmer to death for insulting the sanctity of Islam because of a piece of software used by a porn site. More »
Supreme Court Gives the Go Ahead for... →
You’ve got to be kidding me. The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Congress can remove works from the public domain and re-copyright them in order to bring the the pieces into compliance with international copyright schemes. Yeah, because that doesn’t run completely against the spirit of copyright law or anything. More »
Scientists Will Halt Research on Avian Flu That... →
The scientists who created an airborne and extremely contagious strain of bird flu say they are temporarily halting their research for 60 days. Oh good! Looks like we don’t have to be cripplingly terrified until April. More »
This Is The Game That The RIAA And The MPAA Want... →
This game doesn’t look like a lot of fun, does it? Unless you are an MPAA and RIAA executive, that is. They love all that handcuff roleplaying. [Based on the classic Black Monopoly board] More »
Streaming Movie of the Night: Star Wars Uncut... →
It was over a year ago when we first heard about Star Wars Uncut, the 15-second-at-a-time, crowdsourced remake of Star Wars: A New Hope. And it’s now finally available in its entirety for your streaming pleasure. More »
MegaUpload Shut Down by the Feds, Founder Arrested →
Sopa protest not over - Wikipedia →
Wikipedia insists its protest over US anti-piracy legislation will continue, while UK interests say they are watching the situation “closely”…
Historic: The Internet Protests Anti-Piracy Bills →
January 18, 2012, will still be talked about decades from now. It is the day tens of thousands of websites, including giants such as Google, Wikipedia and Reddit, decided to take a stand against what they see as a hostile takeover of the Internet by Hollywood, the recording industry, and other rightsholders. As it faces two draconian anti-piracy bills, the free Internet is at stake. Whatever...
RIAA Reminds Us Why We Hate Them With Obnoxious... →
This tweet from the RIAA’s Senior Vice President of Communications is just about the most asinine thing we’ve read all day. Way to totally trivialize an issue that millions of people care passionately about. Updated below More »
LOLing Our Way to Internet Freedom →
Online protests against SOPA weren’t all black bars and grim proclamations of doom. Some remembered that the internet is supposed to be funny...
The MPAA Says Blackout Protests Are an Abuse of... →
HA!
That pipe of trash that someone smoked →
“The entertainment industry say they’re creating ‘culture’ but what they really do is stuff like selling overpriced plushy dolls and making 11 year old girls become anorexic. Either from working in the factories that creates the dolls for basically no salary or by watching movies and tv shows that make them think that they’re fat…”
Internet SOPA/PIPA Revolt: Don't Declare Victory... →
Surprise! Senators with Huge Campaign... →
It’s an old cliché in politics to “follow the money.” Unfortunately, it’s almost always true when it comes to the support of controversial bills. In fact, all you need is $100k per senator to buy support for PIPA, the Senates version of SOPA. More »
SOPA →
A User's Participatory Selecting Model: Librarians... →
AUDIO: Wikipedia founder explains shutdown →
The founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales told Radio 5 live why the English version of the online encyclopedia would go offline on Wednesday…
No, The U.S. Did Not Give Hugo Chavez Cancer →
Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez claims the U.S. gave him cancer. No. Just — just no. It’s another edition of Tinfoil Tuesday, our weekly exploration of the planet’s least-likely conspiracy theories...
A Copyright Nightmare →
New submitter forkfail writes “If further proof were needed that copyright law was out of control in the U.S., it can be found in the fact that it costs 10 dollars to view Martin Luther King’s famous Dream Speech. You might think you could find it on YouTube or other public venues, given its importance in American history. But no — the rights are firmly locked away until 2038.”
What Your Facebook Use Says About You →
Everyone knows that Facebook can be an influential marketing tool and a critical tool for giving your business an online presence in social media. Just be sure you your Facebook page represents you online the way you want to be perceived.