Apparently, "free trade" means imposing our copyright law elsewhere - why not the rest of our regulatory regime,as well? I guess workers and farmers and small business folks don't have the same political clout as "artists". Of course, most of the art so protected is actually owned by large, multinational entertainment conglomerates, but I'm sure that's just a coincidence .... it couldn't be a nefarious trade asociation behind the scenes, could it?

Copyright Extension In Australia [Slashdot]
11:53:57 PM     comment []

From Secular Blasphemy comes More about Mother Teresa
10:09:19 PM     comment []

Well, these two news items came aross the 'Net earlier today - I just got so steamed over them that it's taken me this long to even try and put something coherent together.

If this trend continues, all that'll be left in America is the ultra-rich CEO types with their foreign labor camps, and those who service their every immediate need: cooks, busboys, drivers, lawyers, doctors and healthcare workers.

I guess what really amazes me is that the only voices speaking out against this trend are those of the Kook Brigade, both Left and Right. The rest of our Congress-critters and politico's seem content to let the rest of us practice saying "You want fries with that?" ...

I guess what really nails me is that "free trade" isn't free at all - it's basically us lifting all import duties/tariffs/immigration restrictions for a particular nation, while allowing them to maintain their existing high or onerous duties/tariffs/immigration restrictions. It's us maintaining super stringent regulation - enviromental, labor and otherwise, while allowing duty free imports from places where labor regulation means giving the guards more bullets.

I'm sick of Republicrats and Demilicans both sucking the hind tit off the corporate sow - these corporations have apparently lost all ability to think beyond the next quarterly balance sheet, as the government has apparently lost the ability to see further than the next election. We're digging ourselves a hole the size of the Marianas Trench here, folks, and unless and until somebody says "Stop!" and takes a good, hard look at what we're doing to ourselves, I'm afraid it's only gonna get worse.

Now I think I'll let the articles speak for themselves - taken together, they speak reams.

The Case for Coolie Labor. American IT people cost too much, so U.S. companies continue sending jobs overseas, where grateful workers happily toil for a fraction of the cost. The folks who think that's a good idea make their pitch. Amit Asaravala reports from San Francisco. [Wired News]

Transcriber Threatens Release of Medical Records [Slashdot]
10:00:24 PM     comment []

Why are the folks pushing genetically modified foods so afraid of putting that fact on a label? If it is, as they say "irrelevent", then why not put it on the label? If it's a matter of "fear" on the part of consumers, then label and educate to erase the needless fear, but don't try to pawn off something as "natural" or even "organic"(!) when it's had it's DNA manipulated ... that's just wrong, I don't care where you stand on the issue.

Cracking the Frankenfood Code. Sure, you could tell whether that banana is genetically modified by checking its code number. But the label won't necessarily be there. By Kristen Philipkoski. [Wired News]
9:45:08 PM     comment []

Well, Internet radio may not be dead, but it's certainly never going to fulfill it's initial promise after this. Note that even the National Association of Broadcasters was on the defense against the Copyright Police in this one.

Internet Radio Royalties Affirmed. An appeals court agrees with the U.S. Copyright Office, which compels radio stations to pay royalties to recording companies when music is streamed over the Internet. [Wired News]
8:57:46 AM     comment []