12 Apr 2006
More Unintended Consequences of the DMCA

And the same people who wrote this boneheaded law are now writing new ones to "secure" digital television and radio transmission. I know I feel better off already! They've got the goose that lays the golden eggs by the neck, and they're choking the life out of her slowly but surely.

In the seven years since Congress enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), examples of the law's impact on legitimate consumers, scientists, and competitors continue to mount. A new report released today from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), 'Unintended Consequences: Seven Years Under the DMCA,' (pdf) collects reports of the misuses of the DMCA -- chilling free expression and scientific research, jeopardizing fair use, impeding competition and innovation, and interfering with other laws on the books. The report updates a previous version issued by EFF in 2003, which Slashdot also covered.

(link) [Slashdot]

23:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

General who led 82nd Airborne wants Rumsfeld out

It's one thing to blow off anti-war protesters as being misled and ill-informed about Iraq. It's quite another to blow off the generals who led the operations in the field. Did anybody else catch Tim Russert's interview with Gen. Anthony Zinni last Sunday? The transcript is here (scroll down). Very enlightening.

The commander who led the elite 82nd Airborne Division during its mission in Iraq has joined the chorus of retired generals urging Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to quit. "Secretary Rumsfeld carries way too much baggage with him," retired Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack said. He is the fifth general -- and second to have served in Iraq under Rumsfeld -- to call for his resignation.

(link) [CNN.com]

23:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

The DNA Age: Seeking Ancestry in DNA Ties Uncovered by Tests

This may be interesting, and may provide some directions for a detailed search for ancestors. But there's a lot more to ancestry than mitochondrial DNA - as some of these "recreational genomics" are discovering.

Ethnic ancestry tests are spurring a thorough exploration of the question, What is in it for me?

(link) [New York Times]

23:00 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link

'South Park' aims at censors, hits Bush, Jesus

Ohmigod! They've censored Kenny!

I applaud Parker and Stone for building the edited episode, complete with it's blasphemous depiction of Jesus taking a dump on the flag. Why? Because it showed that the execs at Comedy Central have no problem with offending Christians or patriots, just a problem with a depiction of Mohammad catching a football.

There's a word for this kind of behavior: dhimmitude.

I certainly hope that the South Park gang finds a new broadcast home when their contract runs out. One that's not run by craven cowards like the execs at CC.

Banned by Comedy Central from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Mohammad, the creators of "South Park" skewered their own network for hypocrisy in the cartoon's most recent episode.

(link) [CNN.com]

23:00 /Politics | 3 comments | permanent link

Soil-bound prions that cause CWD remain infectious

I'll wait for confirming studies before I panic, but this could be potentially very scary. If BSE can be passed this way, outside the "normal" food chain, then we could very well be in deep, deep trouble.

Scientists have confirmed that prions, the mysterious proteins thought to cause chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer, latch on tightly to certain minerals in soil and remain infectious.

(link) [EurekAlert! - Breaking News]

23:00 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link