Sunday, September 29, 2002

News.Com: The new "copyspeak". Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association. In copyspeak, there is no such thing as fair use "rights," rather fair use is only an affirmative defense to copyright infringement and therefore not a right. But various recognized "rights" may only be asserted as affirmative defenses in a lawsuit. [Tomalak's Realm] 9:23:04 PM

Jailbait. How antiabortion zealots posing as underage girls tried to entrap Planned Parenthood workers. [Salon.com] 9:21:15 PM

Bush calls Saddam 'the guy who tried to kill my dad' In discussing the threat posed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Bush said: "After all, this is the guy who tried to kill my dad." At last, we get to the real reason Americans will soon begin killing, and being killed by, Iraqi soldiers. Little Georgie is mad that someone took a pot shot at his daddy... 8:38:50 PM

Give 'em hell, Al. With a series of fiery speeches, the former vice president recovers his voice, his backbone and his place as the 2004 Democratic front-runner. [Salon.com] 8:05:44 PM

The Real Tragedy of the Commons. In 1968, Science magazine published The Tragedy of the Commons, by Garrett Hardin. The article struck a resonant chord; it gave a fresh and modern face to the discredited alarmism of Thomas Malthus. Today there is hardly a school-child who has not been carefully taught about the tragedy of the commons, and had explained to him why human cooperation and sharing do not work in practice. Unfortunately for the trusting student, not only does this fly in the face of historical fact, but it has led to a wide-spread amnesia about the true tragedy of the commons: the Enclosure Movement. [kuro5hin.org] 7:53:30 PM

Studios' copyright goal is total control The entertainment cartel has in recent years grossly tipped the balance. Spending millions of dollars on campaign contributions and lobbying, it has persuaded Congress to enact laws reflecting a radical view of information and its use. The major media/entertainment companies believe that control of information -- absolute control over how it can be used -- belongs to the owner of the copyright. They insist, moreover, that copyrights should be able to last indefinitely. This is a radical agenda, one that overturns tradition and would ultimately wipe out the public domain, without which our culture would be vastly poorer. 7:49:28 PM

© Copyright 2003 Michael Alderete.