10 Jul 2006
Amish Farmer Says Milk Law Opposes Beliefs

Free market? Forget it! You gotta love this bit'o'nonsense:

"You can't just give milk away to someone other then yourself. It's a violation of the law," said LeeAnne Mizer, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

His farm was licensed and inspected, he'd even set his folks up as cow-share customers, too, where the folks who get the milk own a part of the cow. But to no avail - the Nanny State had to step in to protect us from ourselves again.

Qui bono? The American Dairy Association and it's member farms factories, perhaps?

Given the political opposition to treating citizens as adults in this country, I wouldn't give his case an ice cubes chance in a a barbecue pit.

Arlie Stutzman was busted in a rare sting when an undercover agent bought raw milk from the Amish dairy farmer in an unlabeled container.

(link) [New York Times]

via An Agrarian Plowshare

09:14 /Agriculture | 1 comment | permanent link

Cutting out the Naughty Bits Ruled Illegal

and under current US copyright law, the ruling is correct. If we keep going in this direction, someday all content that is not forbidden will be compulsory.

Some of you may recall the lawsuit brought by several Hollywood directors against companies which edit movies for sex, language, and violence. The companies would trade consumers an off-the-shelf DVD for an edited one. Well, the CBC is reporting that Judge Richard P. Matsch has found that this practice violates US copyright law, and 'decreed on Thursday in Denver, Colo., that sanitizing movies to delete content that may offend some people is an "illegitimate business." [...] The judge also praised the motives of the Hollywood studios and directors behind the suit, ordering the companies that provide the service to hand over their inventories.

(link) [Slashdot]

09:07 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Slavery reparations gaining momentum

Uh, I want my reparations! Some of my Scottish ancestors were enslaved and raped by Norwegian Viking raiders: they owe me!

I'm certain some of my even more distant ancestors were enslaved in Rome - the Italian government owes me! And I have no doubt at all that some of my more easterly ancestors suffered under the Mongol yoke: the Chinese owe me, too!

This isn't a slippery slope, it's a greased ski run.

AP - Advocates who say black Americans should be compensated for slavery and its Jim Crow aftermath are quietly chalking up victories and gaining momentum.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

09:06 /Politics | 14 comments | permanent link

Hilary Rosen: Singing a New Song?

A genuinely interesting interview with a lady who's views seem to have changed a bit.

The ex-RIAA head who helped the recording industry defeat Napster now battles on behalf of XM Radio against the organization she led. Eliot Van Buskirk talks with Hilary Rosen about her new role.

(link) [Wired News: Top Stories]

08:54 /Copywrongs | 1 comment | permanent link

'Magnetic memory' chip unveiled

This would be a huge technological breakthrough, almost, dare I say it, on par with the microprocessor.

A microchip which can store information like a hard drive has been unveiled by a US company.

(link) [BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition]

08:52 /Technology | 1 comment | permanent link