[09. 19. 2002]
According to a preliminary report released by the United Nations' Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization, the earth's stratospheric ozone layer appears to be recovering
from damage caused by chemical emissions. The reversal can most likely be attributed to the Montreal Protocol
which was adopted in 1987 "as an international treaty to eliminate the production and consumption of ozone-depleting chemicals." It is believed that during the next decades, we'll see a
recovery of the ozone layer.
(Read More)
During the 121st Meeting of the OPEC Conference today, OPEC ministers agreed to maintain
their oil production limits to keep crude oil prices high. The cartels cutbacks, implemented since the beginning of the year, have pushed crude oil prices to $30 a barrel which is beyond their
$22 - $28 target range. These limits, combined with the increasing demand for fuel and the possibility of a U.S. attack on Iraq, will certainly push oil prices past $30 a barrel. OPEC ministers
will meet again on December 12 to review their policy and determine if further production cutbacks are necessary to avoid a price slide.
[09. 12. 2002]
Could it be? Take another look at how the recording industry is trying to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Dan Bricklin writes: "Given the slight dip in CD sales despite so many
reasons for there to be a much larger drop, it seems that the effect of downloading, burning, and sharing is one of the few bright lights helping the music industry with their most loyal
customers. Perhaps the real reason for some of the drop in sales was the shutdown of Napster and other crackdowns by the music industry."
(Read More)
Does the First Amendment go too far in the rights it guarantees? Forty-nine percent of those surveyed seem to believe so,
viewing the "fundamental freedoms as possible obstacles in the war on terrorism." The survey also revealed that 48 percent of those surveyed believe that the government should have the freedom
to monitor religious groups in the interest of national security -- particularly Muslim groups.
(Freedom Forum Press Release)
[09. 04. 2002]
Over the holiday weekend, the RIAA website was hacked for a third time. But this time, the site offered 20 Linkin Park songs for download. Looks
like someone's just giving them a taste of what will happen if they continue to support a bill
that would grant them and others permission to legally hack the machines of people believed to be illegally distributing their works.
(Read More)
Fearful of consumer backlash, the major record labels have decided to slow down their adoption and wide-scale implementation of CD copy-prevention technologies. One reason is
that the DRM technology is still imperfect since some can easily be defeated. Another is the issue of
compatibility -- many copy-protected CDs won't play in PCs and some even reportedly damaged Macintosh computers.
In an attempt to debunk the recent articles (1, 2) that explain
that piracy is not to blame for the decline in CD sales, the RIAA on Monday released their 2002 mid-year snapshot
of the music industry. The report states that during the first six months of the year, CD shipments fell 7 percent. And they attribute the decline to illegal Internet downloading which
is "displacing sales."
