#infoAnarchy Chump Archives for 2004, 2005

"R079; No. 04-480; 6/27/05. One who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, going beyond mere distribution with knowledge of third-party action, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties using the device, regardless of the device's lawful uses."
posted by seti at 2005-06-27 23:22

seti: Groklaw sad but relieved that Betamax still stands
seti: sorta stands; only after you've been sued and they don't find any intent to facilitate or capitalise on piracy.
seti: #infoAnarchy conclusion: Lots of lawsuits will ensue.
seti: <coderman> goddamn motherfuckers
seti: apparently encouraging illegal actions, not covered under doctrine of free speech
coderman: next up: Apple sued for intent based on previous "Rip, Mix, Burn" advertising
coderman: also in the crosshairs: broadband providers touting "faster downloads for multimedia files!", after many expensive lawsuits all future broadband commercials will carry the fast talking legaleese "broadband only to be used for legal purposes, distribution of copyrighted works without owner's consent is strictly prohibited."

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/02q3/smartglove/smartglove-1.html
posted by MutinyWork at 2005-06-27 21:27

Supreme Court exempts cable from line-sharing
posted by ^matthew at 2005-06-27 20:57

^matthew: Another bad decision by our scotus.
seti: "The Federal Communications Commission's conclusion that broadband cable modem companies are exempt from mandatory common-carrier regulation under the Communications Act of 1934 is a lawful construction of the Act under Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U. S. 837, and the Administrative Procedure Act."
seti: The PDF with the full decision is a long read but Scalia's pizza delivery analogy is worth the download alone (page 58 & 59)

Jurisdicktion.
posted by seti at 2005-06-27 20:33

seti: appropriately numbered R:

Federal Trafficking Penalties
posted by coderman at 2005-06-27 20:26

No way we understand the climate system well enough to start playing with biosphere scale engineering
posted by aminorex at 2005-06-27 19:20

^matthew: At least not without a test run on mars.

zombie dogs
posted by ^matthew at 2005-06-27 18:56

USA detention policies described as "Kafkaesque" by Human Rights Watch, ACLU.
posted by ^matthew at 2005-06-27 18:51

seti: both groups considered way out of the mainstream by the average American, however.
^matthew: The average American considers the ACLU to be slightly off, but still within mainstream.

http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=154045&cid=12920796
posted by seti at 2005-06-27 18:00

seti: (/. on Grokster ruling
seti: "Bram Cohen is not guilty. Tim Berners-Lee is not guilty." Nice to see those two names so close to each other ;)
coderman: see, the definition of "steps taken to foster infringement" is what worries. does making a decentralized system that precludes use of central filters indicate an intent to foster infrignement?
coderman: what if you refuse to monitor the activites and so on? this is hardly as little a deal; this looks like a wedge that will be driven wider and wider over many subsequent rulings
seti: there is no definition, but it seems to imply that if you market your device by claiming it is to be used for mass copyright violations, you lose
seti: that's why it's important to keep pounding the freedom drum of tor, the slashdot effect mitigation of bittorrent, etc.
seti: and I mean pounding in a non-metric and non-sexual way.
coderman: i think that is solely what we want to interpret; i think the courts are going to be much more conservative in interpretation - for example, the lack of any central control, why else would you do that except to avoid prosecution? hmm?
coderman: this is a fucked ruling, no matter how you look at it. i hope you guys are right, that it is a narrow ruling limited to those who sell "Piracy Net v2.0" but i have deep concerns this will be much broader and damanging to decentralized networks in general

Noam Chomsky: Neocon pigdog fascist. Surprise!
posted by aminorex at 2005-06-27 17:36

coderman: yay, a good dissing of chomsky. something far less reactionary than most criticisms
coderman: cause chomsky needs some dissing, the cocky bastard
coderman: i agree with much of his position, but the little bits where he is DEAD WRONG and refuses to even acknowledge debate on such topic is annoyingh
aminorex: Even when he's right, his contemptuous arrogance gives being right a bad name.
coderman: dead wrong also meaning inconsistent, which is similarly annoying
aminorex: But he's usually right, since he's quite clever. Lazy bastard hasn't done anything scientifically useful since he got a chair.
aminorex: One can excuse that as a moral imperative, however.
coderman: i find contemptuous arrogance a common trait in intellectuals so i don't fault him personally for such excess

Quinion on 'I could care less'
posted by Ash at 2005-06-27 16:07

^matthew: Sooner or later we are going to have to accept that words have meaning, and if you use a word and intend a meaning other than the one we've all agreed on prior, then people will not understand you.
aminorex: I could care less (but I'm unlikely to do so)

Overheard in New York
posted by seti at 2005-06-27 14:26

^matthew: Guy on cell: Holy shit, she's too fucking old to get AIDS. The virus would be like "Ew, fuck that, she's old."
seti: Are you a fucking retard or do you just play one in real life?

The High Cost of Prohibition
posted by kp^ at 2005-06-27 08:09

kp^: USA -- Milton Friedman is no dopehead. But that's his hallowed name atop the list of more than 500 economists who've signed an open letter asking our Drug War-addled politicians to stop the prohibition of marijuana and instead legalize it and tax it.
kp^: The petition asks the president, Congress and state officials to wake up, smell the ganja and look honestly at "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition," a report recently done by Harvard economics professor Jeffrey Miron.
kp^: Miron's research shows.. if we stopped arresting 700,000 of our fellow Americans for mostly minor marijuana offenses each year, federal and local governments could garner $10 billion to $14 billion in savings and new tax revenues." ... "About $7.7 billion would be saved on enforcement costs.."

http://made2own.com
posted by kp^ at 2005-06-27 07:39

kp^: web hosting.....

Google to launch online video playback on Monday
posted by simmo at 2005-06-27 06:17

Two Groups Charge Abuse of Witness Law
posted by coderman at 2005-06-27 05:21

coderman: "Two leading civil rights groups charge in a new study that the Bush administration has twisted the American system of due process "beyond recognition" in jailing at least 70 terror suspects as "material witnesses" since the Sept. 11 attacks, and the groups are calling on Congress to impose tougher safeguards."
coderman: "The report, which is to be released on Monday by the groups, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, found that the 70 suspects, about a quarter of them American citizens and all but one Muslim men, were jailed - often for weeks or months - in American facilities without being charged with a crime. Ultimately, only seven men were formally accused of supporting terrorism"
coderman: "Brandon Mayfield, a Muslim lawyer in Portland, Ore., who was jailed in connection with the Madrid train bombings of 2004 after the F.B.I. mistakenly matched a fingerprint of his to the scene." - Spain even told the US "there is no way he was involved" and he got detained anyway. probably for representing muslim clients :)

Crude Smashes Record $60 Per Barrel
posted by coderman at 2005-06-27 05:19

coderman: "The price of crude vaulted to a new high Monday, breaking through the psychologically important US$60 a barrel threshold as concerns mounted that supply would not meet demand, especially in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer."
coderman: "Oil prices are more than 60 percent higher compared to a year ago, but would still have to surpass US$90 to breach the all-time, inflation-adjusted high set 25 years ago."
coderman: $90 a barrel, that sounds like fun!

teh history of suk
posted by Ash at 2005-06-27 05:00

Before polls closed in New York, Congressman Peter King gloats:
posted by aminorex at 2005-06-27 01:59

aminorex: "It's already over...we won" "How do you know that?" "It's all over but the counting, and we'll take care of the counting."
memeticist: "It's not the votes that matter; it's who counts the votes" -Josef Stalin

Dust off your bikes
posted by aminorex at 2005-06-27 01:54

aminorex: IFW World Economics Institute of Kiel projects near-future oil at $100/bbl
aminorex: ...if there are any future significant supply disruptions

The worlds largest "glyph", Maree Man. 600km N. from Adelaide
posted by aminorex at 2005-06-27 01:30

aminorex: The proportions are so good, compared to the Nazca crap... I'm quite stunned.
aminorex: I'd say they used dGPS receivers, and lasers.