boycott-riaa.com - Article: In the News: July 2008

In the News: July 2008

Posted by tracy! on July 31, 2008 at 4:46 AM (printer friendly)

Please feel free to contribute news links folks! Shmoo (aka "independentmusician") can't find all of the stuff that needs to be here by himself! Try to avoid "chit-chat" and keep your posts in this thread as brief as possible for ease of use. No spam!

User Comments (These do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of this site)


pessimist	Date: July 3, 2008 @ 7:36 AM BBC News 2 July 2008 Google Ordered To Release Data On YouTube Users InformationWeek - A federal court has decided that the owner of YouTube has to turn over user login IDs, records showing when users watched videos, their IP addresses, and numbers that identify the videos. [Comment: Well, there's another nail being driven into the freedom of the internet.]

independentm...	Date: July 3, 2008 @ 8:32 PM Mel Galley, former guitarist for Whitesnake and Trapeze, dies RIP :candle:

kellysontheroad	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 4:59 AM Made Worse In Canada - an interesting blog and two excellent mashups about the recently tabled Canadian DMCA http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/4766

independentm...	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 5:30 PM RIAA Wants To Throw In the Towel They are trying to get out of having to pay Lindor's legal fees.

independentm...	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 5:36 PM EUROPEANS! You have until MONDAY to contact your MEP and save the EU from a three-strikes copyright rule!

independentm...	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 5:43 PM Adam Reimer secured an interview with Charlie Angus, the ex-punk-musician turned Canadian Member of Parliament who'se leading the charge against the Canadian DMCA.

independentm...	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 5:45 PM "SF Gate cartoonist Mark Fiore has an awesome new cartoon on the telecom immunity debate. Snuggly, the Security Bear is back, and he has a few words to say about 'compromise.'" --Hugh from the EFF

independentm...	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 5:53 PM Brazil leading the way in restricting the Internet Article 285-B qualifies as a crime – also punished with 1 to 3 years of imprisonment and a fine – "to obtain or transfer data or information" without prior authorization of the legitimate owner.

pessimist	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 6:11 PM Re: "... to transfer data or information" without prior authorization of the legal owner. Huh? Do these guys realize how much of the internet hinges upon the brief access to proceses or data without depending upon spending scads of time to obtain authorization of all the legal owners (much less hoping to even locate them)? Do you think someone needs to help Brazil authorities work through a course on computers? Maybe they've got issues . . .

pessimist	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 6:14 PM processes (rather than proceses) Hint: A final editing look-see for posts before submitting would be nice for this website.

autodidact	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 6:43 PM "Hint: A final editing look-see for posts before submitting would be nice for this website." When this becomes available, we will know that hell has officially frozen over. :) BTW, by quoting pessimist, I think I have just violated Article 285-B. And I'm proud.

independentm...	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 7:54 PM Jason Priestley says music industry 'a mess' but works "I got there as an outsider following this band who had a lot of autonomy in Canada and were basically left alone by their record label and did things how they wanted to do them and were successful," the former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star told The Associated Press recently. "And here I am following them around in Nashville and they get greeted a lot with 'That's not the way we do it here' or 'Let me tell you how we do it in Nashville.' It was very interesting. "I have a lot friends who are musicians. I think I'm just fascinated by that industry," Priestley said. "It's just amazing that it works at all. It's a mess, but it works."

independentm...	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 7:57 PM Canadian fiddler looks for quick payday via eBay A Canadian fiddler who is no stranger to controversy has put half his future music earnings up for sale on eBay, the auction website. MacIsaac released his first 10 albums through labels backed by Universal Music Group, a unit of French media giant Vivendi. The fiddler says he has regained total creative control over his work, and expects his next album, due next year, to be a commercial success.

independentm...	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 8:01 PM Vint Cerf said this week that he never intended to seriously propose that the U.S. government should nationalize the Internet. But he does think the Internet is seriously broken, with an economic system that discourages competition and innovation and encourages harmful monopolistic practices. He argued that the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which governs Internet service providers, is obsolete and needs to be revised.

independentm...	Date: July 5, 2008 @ 8:10 PM Mobile Music A $7.3 Billion Industry By 2011 Research firm eMarketer predicts that music sales as a whole will continue to decline, but online and mobile markets will grow rapidly.

independentm...	Date: July 6, 2008 @ 3:25 PM Public' online spaces don't carry speech, rights This is an AP story. Due to the fact that they don't want us to copy and paste more than 4 words of it, I didn't have the free speech to put it on the front page. (And probably could get in trouble for even linking to it!) ironic?

pessimist	Date: July 6, 2008 @ 3:57 PM It's talking about free speech and rights to privacy being marginalized on the internet these days, and I sadly have to agree that's what is happening. A judge's order compelling Google's YouTube to cough up all its clients' records of activities (keystrokes) to Viacom is a current despicable example.

pessimist	Date: July 6, 2008 @ 4:06 PM (Shmoo, I'm fairly sure you know, my post was directed to any reader of this website who needs to take stock of the tragic trend that's been shaping up in online territory in recent times.)

independentm...	Date: July 6, 2008 @ 5:13 PM NSA Spying Judge Defends Rule of Law, Congress Set to Strip His Power Any doubt we are loosing our freedoms?

independentm...	Date: July 6, 2008 @ 5:41 PM MEDUSA (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio) is a device that uses microwave pulses to beam sound directly into someone's head. MEDUSA can apparently fill your head with incapacitating "shockwaves" or possibly even whispered messages.

independentm...	Date: July 6, 2008 @ 5:42 PM Toronto gallery hangs show of art in opposition to the Canadian DMCA

pessimist	Date: July 6, 2008 @ 6:17 PM Re: NSA spying; Bush administration coordinating with telecommunication corporations to compromise privacy rights This is being given a whitewash by the dems (for shame). It makes me remember what Gov. George Wallace once said about there not being a dime's worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans (when it comes to political pragmatism, lobby money, and mutual backscratching). Pres. Eisenhower lamented about the over-reaching power of the military-industrial complex, and Pres. John F. Kennedy once sounded an alarm about the misuse of executive power (to the future detriment of liberties). All those guys were correct. And as time has gone by, more and more we can see the cumulative effect of all the wrong-headed decisions that our government has made to increase its own power and cater to corporations. AT THE EXPENSE OF THE VERY CITIZENS THEY SWORE TO REPRESENT. (Maybe they'd like to claim contagion of an inside-the-beltway disease or something?) And I'm not even going to get into judicial fiat ("legislating" from the bench). Government at all levels has a lot of reek to it. Anyone doubting that's true is living in la-la land.

independentm...	Date: July 7, 2008 @ 4:46 PM Not only do the telecoms get immunity to spy on you, they sue our municipalities to keep them from giving broadband to the citizens. Ask yourself, WHO runs this country?

independentm...	Date: July 7, 2008 @ 5:22 PM Telecom immunity... a good case that any Congressperson who votes for it is violating her/his oath to uphold the Constitution

independentm...	Date: July 7, 2008 @ 5:24 PM The Center for Social Media has done an enormous public service: they've created a plain-language document that is aimed at helping people who aren't legal experts to navigate the muddy waters of fair use, to make use of the rights they have under the law and make better videos without getting into legal trouble.

independentm...	Date: July 7, 2008 @ 7:48 PM Nickelback, whose last album sold 10 million copies, has signed a three-album/three tour deal with Live Nation, as well as a deal for the company to handle all its merchandising, licensing, sponsorship, secondary ticketing, endorsements, DVD and broadcast rights, fan club, website and literary rights. In other words, they screwed themselves with a "360"

independentm...	Date: July 7, 2008 @ 7:50 PM Ex-"Idols" Young and Lewis take indie route "(Young and Lewis) took a huge step to be in control of their records," says My Rocket Science director of digital media Alicia Yaffe, who is working with both artists. And while this allowed them creative control with little label interference, they face the challenge of getting that music heard."

independentm...	Date: July 7, 2008 @ 7:55 PM indie label signs deal with movie studio. Lionsgate & Narnack, sittin' in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g

pessimist	Date: July 7, 2008 @ 7:58 PM Re: "And while this [taking the indie route] allowed them creative control with little label interference, they face the challenge of getting that music heard." My comment: Well, they need to plan to do live performances in a few key areas.

pessimist	Date: July 7, 2008 @ 8:09 PM "Ask yourself, WHO runs this country?" Important question. Unfortunate answer: It ain't being run by those interested in what's best for us citizens. :(

independentm...	Date: July 9, 2008 @ 8:29 AM Media Hero's - trading cards Hey, why not one of Boycott Riaa (and me)???

independentm...	Date: July 9, 2008 @ 8:36 AM A group of singers made famous by music mogul PHIL SPECTOR are suing the record producer for unpaid royalties. Members of groups The Crystals, Bobbie Soxx and the Blue Jeans and The Ronettes - including Spector's ex-wife Ronnie Greenfield - claim the troubled Wall of Sound mastermind has skipped payments they are due to receive twice a year.

independentm...	Date: July 9, 2008 @ 8:37 AM there is talk that the US government may owe royalties on the song that has been blared over and over and over again to to weaken detainees' resolve of "War on Terror" prisoners warehoused there.

pessimist	Date: July 9, 2008 @ 5:20 PM I read today that Congress, including the Democrats, capitulated and voted to allow the telecommunication companies to skate free from being sued over the many, many thousands of illegitimate recordings of phone conversations in the recent past... the telcos initially hadn't had a problem doing that spying in response to the request of George W. Bush's over-reaching and over-reacting to strawmen terrorists that are supposed to be lurking all over the place. (Pres. Bush reminds me of Don Quixote sometimes.) What I'd like to know is why there couldn't be just one senator to draw the line and start a filibuster on this issue. To me, this just goes to show that the Democrats aren't worthy to be trusted very much more than Republicans. Even Obama flip-flopped on it. Utterly disgusting.

pessimist	Date: July 9, 2008 @ 5:24 PM I'm more of an independent libertarian more than anything else when it comes to voting; but this time around (in November) I'm likely going to just stay home. I'm VERY disenchanted with our political choices as well as the politcal processes that our nation has come to. We live in a deteriorated USA. It's actually time for another revolution to just clean house and start all over again.

pessimist	Date: July 9, 2008 @ 5:29 PM There IS an agenda to compromise liberties and rights to privacy; does anyone doubt it? [Snarl!]

pessimist	Date: July 10, 2008 @ 5:34 AM PRIVACY RIGHTS CONTINUE TO BE UNDER ATTACK (talking about Congress' disgusting decision yesterday): “The law itself is a massive intrusion into the due process rights of all of the phone subscribers who wanted to be a part of the litigation,” said Bruce Afran, a New Jersey attorney representing several hundred plaintiffs suing Verizon and other telco companies. The just-approved legislation also EXPANDS the government’s power to invoke emergency wiretapping procedures. “It is a violation of the separation of powers! It’s presidential election-year cowardice; the Democrats are afraid of looking weak on national security. So, in the end, the Republican administration prevails with its trump card that it's more than happy to play.” Thus it is that the Dems, presumably champions of personal freedoms, roll over obligingly and play pussycat (again). Nothing new there; they've capitulated many times in the past as well. Perhaps they think vociferous rhetoric substitutes for, if not triumphs, over actions? (Previously, many Democrats touted their indignant opposition to abridgement of individual liberties in regard to this very bill which was pending and pushed by GWB at the time.) I've got news for them and everybody else: Form does not substitute for substance. Folks, our government is corrupt and broken beyond repair. That's why I contend there's no hope unless a traumatic, drastic new start can happen (fat chance).

pessimist	Date: July 10, 2008 @ 5:48 AM One more thing about the Telecom immunity... "a good case that any Congressperson voting for it is violating her/his oath to uphold the Constitution" http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/07/07/video-daniel-ellsber.html From my previous posts: I didn't want to omit the fact that Senators Feingold and Dodd have fought back extensively against the proposed extension of the telecommunication surveillance act, even up to the point of the final senate vote yesterday. Sen. Obama had tried to get the liability exemption removed from the bill but failed. Then he voted FOR the law with the immunity provision intact. So, there you go. “Those who can give up essential liberty to buy a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin

independentm...	Date: July 10, 2008 @ 7:07 AM I'm pissed at Obama. Imagine, Hillary voted AGAINST it and he voted 4 Telecom immunity. Totally opposite what I expected.

independentm...	Date: July 10, 2008 @ 7:14 AM "This Administration has put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. When I am president, there will be no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens; no more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime; no more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. Our Constitution works, and so does the FISA court." Too bad Obama doesn't believe that anymore. -- Joan Walsh

independentm...	Date: July 10, 2008 @ 7:17 AM RIAA's SafeNet Caught In a Lie

independentm...	Date: July 10, 2008 @ 7:24 AM Hillarious whiteboard presentation by the Turtles accounting their manager troubles over the years.

pessimist	Date: July 10, 2008 @ 1:10 PM Regarding: "When I am president, there will be no more illegal wire-tapping . . . blah, blah, blah ..." (Yeah, right.) Sen. Obama might as well have said, "When I am president, you can expect the unexpected -- a roller coaster ride of flip-flops and changeable surprises, perhaps even more of what you've seen so far in me. Aren't you tired of Bush's dull, predictable presidency? And Sen. McSame will just be Bush, term 3. So, vote for ME and get a joy ride, the thrill of c-h-a-n-g-e (be it good or bad, because we hafta go forward, you know; we gotta go where the wild winds blow, out there somewhere in humpty dumpty land)! I'm ready to boogie, baby!"

pepe512000	Date: July 10, 2008 @ 6:39 PM Will ad-supported music save the record industry? Haven't they been through this, oh I don't know, a cazillion times now???

pessimist	Date: July 10, 2008 @ 11:52 PM "The woes of the record industry have been deep and well publicized, and blame has been laid from the beginning on free downloads." [Ahem] Who laid the blame? (rhetorical question) That sounds like the RIAA is still in denial about THEIR role in the reasons for the industry's woes (i.e., their unfairness and poor decision-making, including failure to adapt, etc.), so how can "the woes of the industry" now be magically solved solely by advertising, without getting at the other root causes that have been documented at our boycott website for years? Methinks it's a bit too little, too late. Oh, well, let the fat cats and their "industry" die. Music (and music artists) can do without them. Go, indie revolution!

independentm...	Date: July 11, 2008 @ 4:07 AM FCC Chief Says Comcast Violated Internet Rules

independentm...	Date: July 11, 2008 @ 4:17 AM Ars Technica reports that a court in Germany ruled in favor of an open WiFi network owner stating that if other users use your open WiFi network without your consent and download copyrighted material, you cannot be automatically held responsible for their actions.

pepe512000	Date: July 11, 2008 @ 7:08 AM Shmoo..you should front page that Turtles video, it is SO music industry!!! Can't cry, might as well LOL!

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 3:24 AM Ontario Privacy Commissioner to Google: Fight the Viacom/YouTube privacy order! (.pdf file)

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 5:04 AM Florida Couple Faces Lawsuit From Disney David and Marisol Chaveco own a party business and bought two costumes that happen to resemble two Disney characters. One of the costumes is an orange tiger that looks a lot like Tigger. The other costume is a blue donkey that resembles Eyeore.

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 5:16 AM 5 reasons to avoid the iPhone 3g defectivebydesign.org

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 5:19 AM Music industry insiders find upside in album leaks duh.

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 5:21 AM " When labels track traffic on peer-to-peer networks to gauge the extent of unauthorized leaks, they're conducting market research as well, determining the age, gender and location of downloaders and examining which songs are most popular, says Eric Garland, CEO of BigChampagne, which measures peer-to-peer traffic. "Over the last five years, tracking downloading went from a hush-hush thing to being one of the key indicators in the marketing and promotion of every major label," Garland says. "In a music market where control over distribution is deteriorating, intelligence about the marketplace is the silver lining." "

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 5:24 AM Sadly, George Martin doesn't "get it" Q: You think so? How can you have too much music? Martin: I think if you've got an iPod and you're walking across a busy street and ignoring all the traffic. (Laughs) Q: Speaking of iPods, do you know when the Beatles will make their catalog available online? Martin: It's still under discussion, and nothing has been determined yet. I think it's inevitable that sooner or later the Beatles will be available, but it's got to be on their terms, really. I think that's the essence of it. There's so much piracy, there's so much illegal downloading. In that way, we're devaluing our history. Young people now say to themselves, "This stuff is free and it should be free. Why should we have to pay for music? Music is free, isn't it?" And that in itself is a belief that shouldn't be there and is encouraged by Internet downloading.

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 5:29 AM The European Union's highest court on Thursday threw out a lower court ruling that annulled the European Commission's approval of a merger between the Sony Music and BMG record labels.

pessimist	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 6:25 AM Date: July 12, 2008 @ 3:24 AM Ontario Privacy Commissioner to Google: Fight the Viacom/YouTube privacy order! Exactly what I thought and wrote the very day I heard about that court order. Indeed, why SHOULD Google roll over and play timid pussycat? C'mon, Google/YouTube, show some balls, er, I mean testosterone!

pessimist	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 7:27 AM I mean, fair use and safe harbor and all that, what happened? And I thought they WERE responding quickly to take-down requests as well as deleting glaring infringement. So, crap, they need to stand up for themselves; are they men or mice? Don't let one monkey stop the show. Appeal the ruling, based on a-priori rights; there is legal precedent, and they should try to fall back on it. Meantime, pull out all the stops to plea their case to mainstream media, etc. There's lots they can do, damn it.

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 4:52 PM R.I.P. Tony Snow. He may have worked for the wrong teams, but he was also a musician. :candle:

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 4:57 PM Nielsen Collects FL Tax Breaks, Then Outsources Jobs Doesn't come as no shock. ...pocketed millions in Florida jobs-creation tax concessions but has turned around and dismissed hundreds of local workers after inking a $1.2B outsourcing deal with Tata Consultancy Services of Mumbai.

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 5:10 PM http://www.linux.com/feature/141384 Canadian open source community upset over proposed copyright law By Ian Palmer on July 10, 2008 (9:00:00 PM) The Government of Canada has angered those who believe that a proposed copyright law threatens the country's open source business model. Russell McOrmond, a member of the Canadian Software Innovation Alliance (CSIA), says that Bill C-61, the proposed copyright legislation unveiled by the government last month, ignores just about every recommendation made by CSIA, a coalition of open source businesses and supporters, in a white paper.

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 5:12 PM Sean Hurley "...acknowledges that Canada's copyright law needs changes, he argues that the proposed law actually imposes the values of a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) international agreement that was not based on any feedback from Canadian artists or consumers."

independentm...	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 5:39 PM "The horribleness of commenters isn't really a mystery: Internet anonymity is disinhibiting, and people are basically mean anyway." From a story in Time.

pessimist	Date: July 12, 2008 @ 11:47 PM Computerworld July 1, 2008 dateline Oldsmar, Florida Nielsen Co., the media company known for audience measurement, has given up tens of thousands of dollars in local tax breaks this year after signing an outsourcing deal with an India-based offshore provider. The move, which has drawn negative reviews from local officials, came after the company announced it would lay off 117 workers at its global technology center Oldsmar, Fla. Greg Rublee, an Oldsmar council member, said that Nielsen, by ending the tax incentive agreement, has "prevented anyone from looking over their shoulder." Although companies that hire outsourcing firms often try to limit the release of information about layoffs through employee nondisclosure agreements tied to severance and public statements, Nielsen was unable to do so in this case. That's because it received property tax breaks in 2001 to build a $100 million global technology center in Oldsmar. That forced Nielsen to disclose hiring details at that facility, effectively putting the employee count of the facility on the local political radar. My comment: (Shmoo, what I just did was distill the article you referenced in a recent post. Thanks for finding this news.) This shows an example of what's terribly wrong in the way our nation's government does things -- allowing American companies to avoid disclosure about the way that their outsourcing has exported jobs to outside the United States. Who knows how many other companies have done this sort of thing all over America, but practically no one finds out because the companies were/are allowed to keep it secret if they didn't accept tax breaks. As the news says: "Although companies that hire outsourcing firms often try to limit the release of information about layoffs and job losses through employee nondisclosure agreements tied to severance and public statements, Nielsen was unable to do so in this case." Sick. Just plain sick, and cruel, the way that American jobs have been lost over the years due to corporate greed AND how they often get away with not having the public find out about it either! Another reason to be disgusted at "business as usual" here in the U.S.A. Our economy is hurting, folks don't have enough job opporunities as it is, and here we have such an un-American way of doing things that hurt people and keep their nefarious deeds under wraps. Grrrr!

autodidact	Date: July 13, 2008 @ 8:15 AM So Shmoo, you're saying we should erect barriers to foreign music? A special import tax on Coldplay, or their indie equivalent? Should we even allow bands from England or Australia to tour the United States? They're taking jobs away from American musicians. It's un-American, I say! All because of the greed of these foreigners. It's disgusting. Why can't Bjork just stay home and play Icelandic venues? I think the bigger question is how much more you are willing to pay for goods and services if outsourcing is curtailed. Because they will cost more. Also, you're confusing local tax breaks with national policy. If localities didn't bribe companies with tax breaks to locate in their towns (at the expense of the other resident taxpayers), then there really wouldn't be much cause for complaint. So this is a problem at all levels, and Americans are going to have to get off their butts and wrest control from the idiots on their city councils and state legislatures if we are ever going to start having sane policies. And we probably need term limits for all offices, because once people get in, they seem to sell out very quickly, just to keep in power.

independentm...	Date: July 13, 2008 @ 4:23 PM Actually, I was just reporting news, not making all that much of an observation or forwarding an opinion of my own. However, I don't like outsourcing of USA jobs, ESPECIALLY when the company doing the outsourcing is getting benefits from the USA to discourage the practice. ALSO, I hate companies paying people slave wages just so the honchos can vastly increase their own profits albeit perhaps passing along a mere token amount of savings to us. (I promise the WHOLE savings isn't passed along.) In general outsourcing is BAD for all of society (except for company profit margins.) I'd have no problem at all with outsourcing if the company doing it had to adhere to minimum wages and other laws protecting the workers (no matter where they live.) ------- I agree with ya on term limits. I think you should get only 1 term in office. lol, I think you shouldn't be allowed to run for office either. Our reps should be appointed by lottery and FORCED to serve their term (or face federal prison.) We shouldn't trust ANYONE who "wants" the job.

independentm...	Date: July 13, 2008 @ 4:24 PM But, I'm a bit insane too. (Weird ideas and all.) ;)

independentm...	Date: July 13, 2008 @ 4:26 PM ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging FISA

independentm...	Date: July 13, 2008 @ 4:27 PM MS and Icahn still trying for Yahoo. Yahoo still resisting.

independentm...	Date: July 13, 2008 @ 6:07 PM Lyle Lovett has admitted he "never made a dime" from album sales during his twenty year career, according to Female First. He said he hopes he'll begin to make some money from his music when his contract with Curb/Universal expires later this year. He explained: "I've never made a dime from a record sale in the history of my record deal. I've been very happy with my sales, and certainly my audience has been very supportive. I make a living going out and playing shows. Certainly if a major label is interested in working with me after these next two records and is able to come up with a strategy that does engage some of the new technology in a way that can benefit everybody, I'd be very interested in that." Apparently, Lovett has sold 4.6 million albums in the United States since 1991 and signed with Curb/Universal in 1985.

pessimist	Date: July 13, 2008 @ 7:19 PM Re: FISA (Federal Intelligence Spying Act) giving immunity to capitulating telecoms . . . "The U.S. Senate voted against removing retroactive immunity for lawbreaking telephone companies from the domestic spying bill Wednesday morning, and later approved the legislation which extends telecommunication and electronic surveillance. An amendment sponsored by Senator Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) that would have stripped immunity from the bill failed by a vote of 32 to 66, a tally nearly identical to a vote on a similar amendment in February that failed 31 to 67. The Senate also voted down an amendment that would have paused pending lawsuits and the amnesty provisions until after an Inspector General investigation into Bush's warrantless wiretapping program. "This may be a historical embarrassment," senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) protested Wednesday morning on the Senate floor. "Everyone knows we don't know what the program did, but here we are giving immunity to the telephone companies." Specter noted that Congress was violating the constitutional principle of separation of powers by interfering with the courts. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin), one of the fiercest opponents of expanded spying and retroactive amnesty, had urged the Senate to allow the cases against the telecoms to continue in federal court. "These civil suits may be the last opportunity to get a ruling on the legality of the warrantless wiretapping program," Feingold said Wednesday morning on the Senate floor. But Senator Kit Bond (R-Missouri), the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, argued that the nation's telecoms shouldn't be punished for coming to the aid of the country. "It is unfair to use telecoms as the punching bag to get at the administration," Bond said, arguing that anti-wiretapping suits should be filed against the government, not the telecoms. However, Bond failed to note the significant legal hurdles to suing the government, including the need to prove standing and overcome soverign immunity privileges. The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), a San Francisco non-profit rights groups, plans to challenge the legality of the amnesty provision, arguing that Congress overstepped its authority by messing with the courts."

pessimist	Date: July 13, 2008 @ 7:29 PM So much for the majority of our Senate caring enough constitutional liberties. Individual rights took a big blow on this decision, and you know what pisses me off? It was done by a large segment of Democratic senators falling in line with the repressive-minded Republicans! Broken record: People who hope to rely on the Democrats to safeguard our freedom are doomed to disappointment. There needs to be some FUNDAMENTAL changes made to the way our government keeps getting bigger and less responsive to individual citizens that it purports to serve. Some cry "Revolution!" (As a last resort, yes, but a resort nonetheless.)

PerilousTimes	Date: July 14, 2008 @ 9:10 AM http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1821646,00.html "The horribleness of commenters isn't really a mystery: Internet anonymity is disinhibiting, and people are basically mean anyway." (From a story in Time magazine, linked as above.) That is true about people being basically uncaring, about others that they have no bonding relationship with. As we mature, subtlety may replace open and overt acts, but the heart is frequently still in an ignoble condition. Sophistication or pretense does not remedy or atone for character flaws. Some sociologists say humans are born with an innocent clean slate but "catch" selfishness and inappropriateness pretty fast. The original novel Frankenstein picks up on that theme. Others point to the Bible which talks about our fallen human nature being contaminated with sin throughout life (starting as a tender infant), leading to the desperate need of the Savior's forgiveness and guidance. It would be expected that one's position on a controversial topic such as this is likely to be found in how close a relationship they have to God. Also, it may not be easy to agree on what "sin" is. Is it sufficient to define it as anything that puts ourselves at odds with God's will or that treats others in a way we would not want to be treated? A little spiritual food for thought.

PerilousTimes	Date: July 14, 2008 @ 9:18 AM Visualizing a perfect world, would that be one where everyone cared about others' needs as much as their own? Would it be one where each person consistently put forth effort to be fair and helpful? Would there be respect for nature as well as for people?

independentm...	Date: July 14, 2008 @ 4:20 PM eBay has beat Tiffany in court "All of Tiffany's trademark infringement claims against eBay were rejected — a knockout blow to the four-year-old lawsuit that had been closely watched by Internet companies as well as luxury goods makers seeking to stop the sale of counterfeit products online. Tiffany & Co had alleged that eBay turned a blind eye to the sale of fake Tiffany silver jewelry on its site. EBay had countered that it was not in a position to determine which goods were knock-offs..."

independentm...	Date: July 14, 2008 @ 6:29 PM Friction over Fan-Fiction Is it legal to write your own story about Star Trek's Mr. Spock?

independentm...	Date: July 14, 2008 @ 6:45 PM It takes 56.3 MB and a reboot to update a few words in Vista's dictionary Microsoft explains: The words "Friendster," "Klum," "Nazr," "Obama," and "Racicot" are not recognized when you check the spelling in Windows Vista and in Windows Server 2008.

independentm...	Date: July 14, 2008 @ 8:10 PM "While the survival time varies quite a bit across methods used, pretty much all agree that placing an unpatched Windows computer directly onto the Internet in the hope that it downloads the patches faster than it gets exploited are odds that you wouldn't bet on in Vegas." Link

independentm...	Date: July 15, 2008 @ 6:13 PM Bare Naked Steve Page busted on coke charges.

pepe512000	Date: July 17, 2008 @ 4:15 AM http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/11045/new-media/new-platform-could-save-the-music-industry

autodidact	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 5:11 AM Why do modern albums sound so crappy? Analog/vinyl-maven Michael Fremer unloads on ProTools, the "industry standard" for digital mixing/recording. Two paragraphs from his review of the latest Kathleen Edwards CD: "The louder you turn up a great recording the better it sounds. The louder you play this, the more painful it gets as the music struggles with even greater ferocity to break free of the constraining digital chain gang. I am certain the producer/engineer is well aware of this and was constrained by a relatively skimpy budget. Under that circumstance, this is better than could have been expected. Better to put the money into the great musicians and the arrangements. "If this isn’t a ProTools recording I’ll eat a reel of Ampex 456 (that’s a cop-out because no one in their right mind would allow one to be destroyed). It has all of the dark, congealed, airless ProTools sonic fingerprints. ProTools sucks. It is an abomination. It is the musical equivalent of the burnt beans Starbucks passes off as gourmet coffee. It is the music business’s poison pill. It repels people who don’t even know they are being repelled. It is why people hardly listen to music anymore. They hear it but they don’t really listen. ProTools is literally unlistenable. " Link: http://www.musicangle.com/album.php?id=626 I love that phrase: It repels people who don't even know they are being repelled. Fremer's rant is more vehement, but similar in sentiment to musician/studio owner John Vanderslice, who eight years ago questioned whether ProTools was the work of the devil: http://tinytelephone.com/html/tapeop.html

pessimist	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 7:10 AM Digitalization is the second worst thing that has happened to music in the last 100 years.

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 7:18 PM Paul Simon sues Japanese clockmaker for using song $5 million for "Bridge Over Troubled Water"

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 7:24 PM Creator of Backstreet Boys and N*SYNC ordered to pay victims $300 million

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 7:27 PM Pete Townshend slams downloads

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 7:36 PM The louder the music in venues, the faster you drink

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 7:41 PM The Business Software Alliance says that if you didn't pirate Microsoft Office, there would be more cops on the streets

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 8:26 PM Court sinks pirate ship tree house

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 8:46 PM Music retailer thrives serving captive audience Enter North Hollywood-based Pack Central, which runs a mail-order operation for about 50,000 prisoners. It stocks about 10,000 CDs and 5,000 cassette titles.

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 8:51 PM Google CEO Eric Schmidt has spoken more than once this year about monetizing YouTube - but he showed some signs of patience on Thursday for finding a new, good way to sell ads on the video-sharing site. And when Google gets the mechanism right, Schmidt said he expects to hit the mother lode.

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 8:55 PM Tivo to stream YouTube vids

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 8:55 PM EU regulators ordered music copyright groups on Wednesday to end a system that makes it difficult for online music stores to buy EU-wide licenses iTunes to come to Europe?

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 8:58 PM The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet said he thinks online monitoring services working on behalf of the advertising community should be required to obtain clear approval before tracking the online activities of individuals.

pessimist	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 9:59 PM SOFTWARE PIRACY RESPONSIBLE FOR FEWER POLICEMEN ON PATROL? "The Business Software Alliance says that the lost state and local tax revenue from software piracy would have been enough to hire nearly 25,000 experienced police officers." Oh, yeah, like THAT would have really happened. Trickle-down economics, eh? Just make corporations happy, and good things will happen for everybody! (s-u-r-e they will, just like windfall-bloated oil companies share any bit of their ill-gotten gains by helping to foster alternative fuel sources) Maybe the BSA would be happy if we'd all just make a marble statue of intellectual property rights and bow down and worship it, because copyright enforcement is the solution for our society's ills on all levels! [sneer] Get real, BSA; lay off with the public pandering and the political poo-poo. You reek. Here are some good comments I saw: "When the BSA says that the US loses 25,000 important jobs because of piracy, this is rather shaky reasoning. For something more substantive, how many jobs does the US lose because of outsourcing?" "These people don't seem to know or understand that free and/or opensource software may also provide very valued functionality. Look at the cost of OpenOffice compared to the cost of Microsoft Office. What the BSA says (about licensed software saving money in the long run) is just plain stupid." "Is their report based on reliable methodology? As it turns out, no methodology is published, but some of the statements indicate severe flaws in their figures. Notably, a significant amount of the numbers are based on "assumptions" regarding things like: volume licensing (which may lead to increased piracy), loading new software on old computers (how DARE anyone do that!), brand-name avoidance (brands that all have software bundling agreements with BSA members), and the ratio of individual consumers to enterprise purchasers (which runs counter to the volume licensing argument). And so on it goes. Bottom line: You can bet the numbers are NOT based on any analysis of actual computers or software, but on outdated paper trails provided by select partners. In other words, another fantasy report to pressure politicians while carefully avoiding facts. . . a tactic somewhat like the RIAA uses." Now, that last statement has some glue to stick to!

pessimist	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 10:30 PM "The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet said he thinks online monitoring services working on behalf of the advertising community should be required to obtain clear approval before tracking the online activities of individuals." Should have been that way from the get-go. The fact that it's not is just one more clear indication of how detached the heart of big biz is from the best interests of consumers' rights. Doing what's ethically fair doesn't show up on the balance sheet, I know. Silly me. When my kids and I discuss the presumed merits of laissez-faire, you can bet I don't fail to point out the flaws in capitalism. Marxism is a conceptual dream world, too; "dictatorship of the proletariat" in practicality becomes dictatorship of the oligarchy. And actually, ALL systems of government are functionally imperfect because man is imperfect, but what galls me is flag-flying patriots who think our nation has a lock on what's best for everybody. Smacks of ethnocentricity. You know, the GWB types who would like to change sovereign nations to fit a predetermined vision of how things should be. That's the kind of convoluted thinking that gets us mired in unnecessary wars that we don't win. Oh, wait, I forgot: Iraq's hostilities ended in 2003, didn't his banner say? [cynical sneer]

independentm...	Date: July 19, 2008 @ 11:36 PM * VIACOM AND GOOGLE UPPED COMMITMENTS TO USERS' PRIVACY THIS WEEK in response to concerns aired by EFF after a court order that could have exposed the viewing habits of YouTube users. While the proposals are not perfect, they represent a sensitivity to users' privacy, even amidst controversial litigation. Viacom and Google have agreed that user IDs and IP addresses will be replaced with a "unique substituted value," and also that the parties will not try to reverse-engineer real identities from the unique identifiers. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/viacom-narrows-request-youtube-information In addition, Viacom's General Counsel sent EFF a letter promising not to change the plan to protect users' privacy without informing EFF -- which leaves a chance for EFF to air privacy concerns in court if need be. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/viacom-letter-eff-re-google-youtube-data-privacy

Twarrior	Date: July 20, 2008 @ 2:02 PM Is Boycott-RIAA rejecting news submissions from users now? Besides the fact that my submissions are never posted anymore (and they used to get posted) -- the only news posts I've seen in a long LONG time now have always been posted by a staff member (ie: shmoo, tracy, leflaw, etc..). I mean if you guys have closed the door to user submitted news its your right to do so. Your website and all. Whatever floats yer boat. But it would be nice if the users could be told this. Thanks, -Dave

independentm...	Date: July 20, 2008 @ 3:23 PM Because I mostly log in from work (which has much of DMusic's admin sections blocked by the company server) I haven't been checking the submissions in-box very often lately. For my part, anyone can just put a link and brief description of the article/story right here "In The News". I can always take an item to the front-page from here if needed.

independentm...	Date: July 20, 2008 @ 4:06 PM Look for the silver lining "Piracy is a bad thing. But sometimes companies can turn it to their advantage" from The Economist

independentm...	Date: July 20, 2008 @ 8:17 PM Home servers will render CD racks obsolete ORLY?

independentm...	Date: July 20, 2008 @ 8:19 PM Latin musicians now do not need to sell as many albums in the United States to receive gold and platinum awards, thanks to the industry slump.

independentm...	Date: July 20, 2008 @ 8:25 PM Digital high-definition radio is hitting some key milestones in terms of pricing and features, but building enough momentum to spur broad consumer adoption remains a tall order.

independentm...	Date: July 20, 2008 @ 8:26 PM The clock is quickly ticking down on a process that could see German media giant Bertelsmann sell its 50% stake in Sony BMG Music Entertainment tojoint-venture partner Sony Corp in the coming months.

pepe512000	Date: July 21, 2008 @ 10:30 AM Batman and Heath Ledger I hope this hasn't happened because of the "jokers" demise, or starz and starlettz will have to watch their backs from the MPAA...if dead actors are giving the MPAA their biggest bucks.

independentm...	Date: July 21, 2008 @ 5:08 PM Attorneys for Winthrop & Weinstine recently convinced Monster Cable that a product called "Monster Deer Block" would not cause confusion in the marketplace with its cable products.

independentm...	Date: July 21, 2008 @ 5:49 PM Paul Westerberg releases 49 cent album. (Double check to see if he is RIAA free beforehand!)

independentm...	Date: July 21, 2008 @ 5:51 PM Some folks will NEVER learn... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. got its patch and badge copyrighted, making them illegal to sell online and hopefully making it harder for criminals to impersonate officers. lol

independentm...	Date: July 21, 2008 @ 6:18 PM [url=]Fed Appeals Court tosses FCC 'wardrobe malfunction' fine[/url] Booby!

independentm...	Date: July 21, 2008 @ 6:21 PM Crap, forgot the link. (Oh well, it was an AP article anyway. Google it 4 y'rselves so the AP won't sue me for linking it.)

independentm...	Date: July 21, 2008 @ 8:05 PM Here's a link CodeWarrior send me from the LA times: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-fi-breast22-2008jul22,0,3759811.story

independentm...	Date: July 21, 2008 @ 9:01 PM Witnesses at an FCC hearing call for an open Internet The U.S. Federal Communications Commission needs to take steps to keep the Internet free of interference from broadband providers, such as the slowing of peer-to-peer traffic and the tracking of subscribers' Web habits, several witnesses told the FCC at a hearing Monday.

independentm...	Date: July 22, 2008 @ 6:00 AM the Barenaked Ladies have opted to bow out of the summer lineup for Disney's Music Block Party tour—a series of concerts geared toward families with kids—in the wake of singer-guitarist Steven Page's recent arrest on a cocaine charge.

pepe512000	Date: July 22, 2008 @ 2:08 PM I can't believe Steven Page got himself into so much trouble..I'm sure he's now kicking his Barenaked Butt, along with the rest of the band!

independentm...	Date: July 22, 2008 @ 2:36 PM The ONLY reason I bothered to report the "Steven Page arrest" is because he is a founder of the CMC http://www.musiccreators.ca/wp/ (one of our friends)

independentm...	Date: July 22, 2008 @ 2:40 PM Guilty or not. Right or Wrong (or not) It don't matter. ---------- THIS guy AT LEAST had presence of mind to stand up for what we believe in. -------- (from the news I heard, he hurted NOBODY but himself and maybe family. This sorta thang ain't NON OF OUR BIZ!)

pepe512000	Date: July 22, 2008 @ 4:05 PM Mike, I hate to disagree, but he's hurt the band as well, not just himself....there are more cancellations coming up, therefore, less moola for band, his family, their families..it affects a lot of people, and I'm sure they feel it's their business! And what about the fans...these guys were great with younger audiences..what about the kids they were going to play for..so much for role model...People have lot of respect for these guys, but I'm waiting to hear his story... I just think the whole thing is sad as he's become yet another victim of this whole messy social scene.

autodidact	Date: July 23, 2008 @ 4:08 AM Tears For Fears member Curt Smith releases new independent album -- with a Creative Commons license. http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/8479 "At this point in my career, and with the freedom that the internet allows, I saw no point in involving a large corporation in the process. I value my artistic freedom too much and don’t see the logic in giving away any ownership of my music to a major corporation whose influence on the music scene is slowly becoming irrelevant. "[Question]Why did you choose to release “Halfway, Pleased” under a CC license? Was the the motivation artistic, economical, ethical, or some mixture therein? "I’d have to pick logical. It allows me to set the legal parameters of how my music can be used up front without the ridiculous expense of hiring a lawyer. Finally someone has come along and introduced a copyright system that everyone can understand. I don’t need a lawyer to write it and the public doesn’t need lawyers to decipher it." Curt Smith is scheduled to perform on the Craig Ferguson show tonight, Wed. July 23.

independentm...	Date: July 26, 2008 @ 5:58 PM Web Video and the Net's Creaking Backbone "Despite the Chicken Littles' assertions that the Internet sky is about to fall, those pushing for the increased use of video on the Web deny the end is near. Others warn that