Topic: COPYRIGHT - on January 16, 2012 at 9:35:00 PM CET
The Lies Of NBCUniversal's Rick Cotton About SOPA/PIPA
Chris Hayes, over on MSNBC, decided to be the first to seriously break the mainstream cable news' boycott over SOPA/PIPA with a big debate on the bill -- mainly between NBCUniversal's top lawyer, Rick Cotton, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Chris's opening discussion is quite good, and suggests he's certainly sympathetic to all of us who are vehemently opposed to the bill.
Alexis does an excellent job in the brief time he's given to speak (though Cotton gets probably four times the amount of time to speak), but what I wanted to focus on, are the lies of Rick Cotton, because it's simply despicable. He flat-out lies about the bills -- and, even worse -- does so in a manner that implies that it's everyone else who's lying about the bills. He kicks it off by insisting that the bills only apply to sites that are "wholesale devoted to theft." That's simply not true. He actually uses the word "wholesale" maybe two dozen times (at least). The text of PIPA -- the key bill at this point -- says that a site is considered "dedicated to infringing activities" if it "has no significant use other than engaging in, enabling, or facilitating" infringement. That does not mean that the site is "wholesale devoted to theft." Under this definition, of course, a site like a YouTube (if it were based on a foreign domain) would be questionable, given that it has no significant use other than enabling infringement. That doesn't mean that it's always used to infringe, but it's main use absolutely enables or facilitates infringement. Cotton may want to believe the language says otherwise, but it does not.
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Topic: COPYRIGHT - on January 16, 2012 at 9:33:00 PM CET
Wikipedia to Shut Down in Protest of SOPA
Wikipedia will shut down for 24 hours Wednesday to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, founder Jimmy Wales announced on Monday.
In doing so, Wikipedia joins a long list of web companies such as Reddit and Mozilla that are taking similar measures against the proposed legislation.
Wales used his Twitter account to spread the news, writing “Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday! #sopa”
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Topic: COMPUTER - on January 15, 2012 at 1:35:00 PM CET
Behind the Scenes of Arduino Manufacturing & Arduino The Documentary
Ladyada, Kevin and PT did a tour of the Arduino factory in beautiful Torino, Italy. We took many photos, some videos and more.
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Topic: COPYRIGHT - on January 15, 2012 at 1:33:00 PM CET
SOPA Opera - Where Do Your Members of Congress Stand on SOPA and PIPA?
Well-funded interests on either side of SOPA and PIPA are lining up support among members of Congress. This database keeps track of where members of Congress stand. Findings are based on two factors: whether a member is a sponsor of the proposed bills, and each member's voting record on the current bills' precursors and alternatives. Click the links on the left to filter the supporters list.
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Topic: COPYRIGHT - on January 15, 2012 at 1:31:00 PM CET
White House Will Not Support SOPA, PIPA
Saturday marked a major victory for opponents of proposed anti-piracy legislation Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), which would target foreign-based websites violating U.S. copyrights.
House of Representatives bill SOPA and its Senate counterpart PIPA are designed to punish websites that make available, for example, free movies and music without the permission of the U.S. rights holders. Opponents of the bills, however, worry that the proposed laws would grant the Department of Justice too much regulatory power. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has called the measures "draconian." Other Internet giants who oppose the bill include Facebook, eBay, Mozilla, Twitter, and Huffington Post parent company AOL.
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Topic: CSS - on January 15, 2012 at 1:26:00 PM CET
As We Encourage Wikipedia To Protest The Internet Blacklist Bills (PIPA and SOPA) By Going Black Next Week
Wikipedia is considering "going black" to protest Internet censorship legislation pending before Congress. Wikipedia is a non-profit organization, and if enough Internet users pledge to donate at least $1 to Wikipedia, it will reduce the burden on them if they choose to join the protests. Demand Progress -- the organization running this campaign -- will update you once Wikipedia makes a final decision.
If Wikipedia goes through with a blackout, we'll alert everyone who pledged to donate and give them instructions about how to do so; at this time we're collecting pledges to donate, not donations. (This campaign is being run by Demand Progress, which has no formal affiliation with Wikipedia, but is thoroughly supportive of its work and mission.)
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Topic: SECURITY - on January 15, 2012 at 1:24:00 PM CET
Virustotal Updated, Now Accept 32 Megabyte Files
The Virustotal online virus scanning service is one of the services that I use on a regular basis. Whenever I find a great looking software in a “not so great” location, I use the service to check the software out before I execute it on my system. This is for instance the case when software authors host their files on file hosting sites, and not on their own web space.
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Topic: LOST FOUND - on January 15, 2012 at 1:21:00 PM CET
Foebud protestiert gegen Funkchips in Kleidern
RFID-Chips, die in Kleidung eingenäht sind, lassen sich aus mehreren Metern Entfernung noch auslesen. Das haben die Datenschützer des Bielefelder Vereins Foebud bei einer Protestaktion gezeigt.
Der Verein zur Förderung des öffentlichen bewegten und unbewegten Datenverkehrs (Foebud) hat in Bielefeld gegen die Ausstattung von Kleidungsstücken mit Funkchips (Radio-Frequency Identification, RFID) protestiert. Die Chips stellten eine Gefahr für den Datenschutz und die Privatsphäre dar: Darauf ist eine eindeutige Produkt- und Seriennummer gespeichert, über die der Träger wiedererkennbar ist.
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Topic: POLITIK - on January 15, 2012 at 1:18:00 PM CET
'CIA, MI6 behind Iranian nuclear scientist's death'
Tehran sends letter to Swiss embassy over alleged CIA activity, support for terrorist groups in Iran, IRNA reports.
Iran protested the United States and United Kingdom for their alleged roles in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Wednesday, implicating the two nations in the attack, the official Iranian Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported Saturday.
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Topic: TOYS - on January 14, 2012 at 1:23:00 PM CET
BOTOTOY 100% Wood Figure from Arnold Austria x Secret Fresh
Check out this BOTOTOY from Arnold Austria - with the 100% Wood Figure to be launched early this year at Secret Fresh, RONAC Art Center in Manila, Philippines BOTOTOY comes in two sizes - Big (18" / 45cm) and Small (9" / 22.5cm). The figure is made entirely of wood and has seven points of articulation. Head, arms, legs and feet are all detachable and interchangeable.
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Topic: AUSTRIA - on January 14, 2012 at 1:21:00 PM CET
Aufruhr beim Österreichischen Rundfunk
Der Österreichische Rundfunk wehrt sich gegen die Einflussnahme politischer Parteien: ORF-Intendant Alexander Wrabetz wollte einen smarten 25-Jährigen an den Gremien vorbei zum Büroleiter machen. Dagegen haben über tausend Mitarbeiter des Senders nun eine Protestresolution unterzeichnet.
Unter dem Titel "Für einen unabhängigen ORF" zeigt in Österreich eine Unterschriftenaktion gegen parteipolitisch motivierte Postenbesetzungen den Unmut der Redaktionsmitglieder mit der Personalpolitik des Intendanten Alexander Wrabetz: "Während Dienstposten in den Redaktionen in längst unerträglichem Ausmaß reduziert werden, gibt es für Stellen, die zur Erfüllung parteipolitischer Wünsche neu geschaffen werden, offenbar Geld. Wir fordern von der Geschäftsführung alle Vorhaben, die das Ansehen des ORF als unabhängiges Medienunternehmen beschädigen, zurückzunehmen".
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Topic: Glaubensfragen - on January 14, 2012 at 1:07:00 PM CET
"I Share Therefore I Am" - File Sharing in Sweden Becomes an Official Religion
Internet freedom has won the day in Sweden as the religion The Missionary Church of Kopimism has been officially recognized by the government, instigating a new discussion on legality, spirituality and the shaky fate of our greatest collective achievement to date: the Net.
"The copying and sharing of information shouldn't be illegal, but it should be encouraged," said 20-year old philosophy student and Kopimism founder Isak Gerson. Gerson may have tapped into not only the zeitgeist but also his peer group as well. Other Digital Natives can no doubt relate to this notion extremely well, as a huge portion of their lives have been nurtured and matured in the nest of information technology.
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