[10. 27. 2002]
Based on levels of censorship, arrests and killings of journalists, state monopoly ownership, and legal restrictions, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders
released an index of 139 countries based on their press freedoms. And the results are a bit surprising. Most notable is the U.S. which is ranked 17th, below countries such as Canada (5th),
Germany (7th), and Costa Rica (15th). According to the index, the "poor ranking of the U.S. is mainly because of the number of journalists arrested or imprisoned there."
(Read More)
According to Alec French, aide to Rep. Howard L. Berman, Berman plans to revise his P2P
Piracy Prevention Act. The bill, if enacted, would have granted copyright
holders the ability to legally "attack" the machines of people believed to be distributing their works illegally. Since the 107th congressional session will be coming to an end soon,
Berman will have to reintroduce the bill in the 108th Congress which convenes in January 2003.
(Statement of Rep. Howard L. Berman)
[10. 21. 2002]
Tired of being a guenia pig? Join Greenpeace's National Week of Action. From Saturday, October
26, 2002 to Saturday, November 2, 2002 Greenpeace and members of the GE-Free Markets Coalition will be at supermarkets all across the U.S.
demanding an end to the sale of genetically engineered foods. Get involved.
Are SUV's capable of getting 40 miles to the gallon? Yes. And the technology exists today. But don't expect to see them anytime soon. Why? According to Fritz Indra, executive director
of advanced engineering for General Motors’ Powertrain division, it's not what consumers want (demand). "Each year Americans want a little more space inside, a little more power." If
all new cars and trucks used the available technologies, the average fuel economy for U.S. cars and SUV's would rise to 46 mpg (from todays 27 mpg) and 40 mpg (from 21 mpg), respectively.
(Read More)
[10. 18. 2002]
On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched their $3.5 million "Keep
America Safe and Free" campaign to defend our Constitution and freedoms against Attorney General Ashcroft and the Bush Administration who've targeted them since September 11, 2001.
At the heart of the campaign is the U.S.A. Patriot Act which has expanded the governments powers and
Operation TIPS which encourages citizens to spy on one another and report suspicious activites to the FBI.
Coincidentally, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Bryant released to the public on Thursday a 61 page report
[.pdf] detailing how the U.S. Justice Department has used the Patriot Act to conduct Internet and electronic surveillance. Absent from the report is data on whether or not police conducted
any Internet surveillance without a court order or if they ever secretly searched homes or offices without notifying the owner, actions deemed legal under the Patriot Act.
(Read More)
[10. 14. 2002]
The U.S. Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is preparing for its second round of public comments regarding a clause in the
DMCA which prohibits the "circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted
works." This review process is conducted every three years by the Librarian of Congress to determine whether there are particular activities which should be exempt from part of the DMCA.
Since the DMCA's passage in 1998 it has been used not against copyright pirates, "but instead to chill the legitimate activities of scientists, journalists, and computer programmers" --
examples include DeCSS, the arrest of Dmitry Sklyarov, and the
censorship of Professor Edward W. Felten.
Written comments are due by December 18, 2002. Reply comments are due by February 19, 2003. Comments may be submitted via
Internet:
http://www.copyright.gov/1201/comment_forms
Hand:
Office of the General Counsel, Copyright Office, LM-403, James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC.
Postal mail:
David O. Carson, General Counsel, Copyright GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024-0400
(Copyright Office Noticy of Inquiry [.pdf])
[10. 06. 2002]
Use Sprint PCS? Well, don't be surprised to learn that Sprint will share your personal and perhaps even private information with "Sprint Family of Companies." Sprint defines its "Sprint Family of
Companies" as local, long distance, wireless, and directory divisions on Sprint Corp. and joint-venture partners providing communications-related services. Sprint may also freely disclose, share
or permit access to your Customer Information on a limited, as-needed basis with trusted (?) agents and contractors that assist in providing you with communications-related services. Wanna
opt-out? Call: 1-800-865-7786
Oh, the irony. Having been labeled as "pirates," illegal movie and music manufacturers in Malaysia have taken to the high seas to avoid detection. Instead of manufacturing their products on land,
these "pirates" have moved their bootlegging operations "on board ships anchored in international waters."
(Read More)
[10. 01. 2002]
Spammers beware! California Attorney General Bill Lockyer is prepared to "track down and prosecute those who send illegal spam." His first suit
was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on September 26 against Internet marketer PW Marketing LLC. The $2 million suit charges the company with violating several California statutes
which include the prohibition against sending unsolicited commercial e-mails, using false addresses in advertising, failing to disclose required information, engaging in untrue or deceptive
advertising and engaging in unfair business competition.
(Read More)
Maintaining their innocence and admitting no wrongdoing, the big five music labels (BMG Music, EMI Group, Sony Music, Universal Music, and Warner Music) along with retailers Musicland, Tower
Records, and Trans World Entertainment agreed on Monday to pay "$67.4 million and distribute $75.7 million in CDs to public and non-profit groups to settle a lawsuit led by New York and
Florida over alleged price-fixing in the late 1990s." This settlement will address the labels' price-fixing practice of "minimum-advertised pricing" (MAP) which kept CD prices high from 1995
thru 2000. MAP was an agreement between the labels and retailers whereby retailers would sell CDs at or above a certain price and in exchange the labels would subsidize the retailers' ads.
This settlement is a start, but still far from fair considering consumers were overcharged $480 million since 1997.
(Read More)
