Thursday, June 30, 2005

Old School Piracy?

When I was a young'un my day could be ruined by the ill timed slam of a door or a squark of a cockatoo. Why? I was 'recording' in my room & neither my parents nor nature had any respect for my need of absolute silence.
Silence was necessary because I had a record player & a tape recorder...& there was no way to connect the two.
My solution (remember when it comes to music, for a teeenager, there's always a solution) was to play the record & tape it, thereby giving me the precious music I needed to survive while I was livin' large away from my stereo.
Now, as I see it, the only difference between me then & teenagers now is they can be tracked doing this & I couldn't.
Hey, wait up, don't get your knickers in a twist! I'm not naive enough to think it's only teenagers downloading from Kasaa & Grokster et al however, I do think this new lunacy from the US Supreme Court does nothing to solve the real problem of large scale piracy but instead is well, just an easy way out.

Justice David Souter wrote for the court...
"The question is under what circumstances the distributor of a product capable of both lawful and unlawful use is liable for acts of copyright infringement by third parties using the product. We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyrights, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps take to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting act of infringement by third parties."

Huh?

If I read 'copyright infringement' as 'unlawful act' then can someone tell me if I can still buy blank videotape for the express purpose of taping General Hospital? Or is the blank tape legal but the video recorder now suspect? Maybe ABC who airs General Hospital without a way to block me from taping it are the culprits? No, according to Justice Souter, I think it's the videotape manufacturer.

Where is TiVo in all this? Expressly manufacturered to record stuff while we're out living life so we can watch later....without commercials!!! The reason for the TV in the first place!
Surely that is 'a device with the object of promoting it's use to infringe copyrights' to quote Souter again.

The music business is not only strangling the innovation & talent of artists but is choosing to ignore progress. On top of that, they're trying to force everyone do the same instead of progressing with new technology. Now they have The Supremes voting with them. I wonder if Florence, Mary & Diana would agree?

If piracy is the problem, I think it wise to go after the pirates not their vessels. Nor the little sailors putzing around in their tinnies through the sea of sound. They're not pirates, they're explorers.

Although maybe, in the big karmic wheel of life, the Supreme Court is this generation's parents & cockatoos.


Thursday, June 23, 2005

Love My Neighbour

I'm having a shades of gray day 2day.
How luxurious for me that I have a great friend (who was 1st a neighbour) to take the young'un to the beach with her brood.
I like very much the idea of 'it takes a village' - he gets some sea time, I get some me time.
Gotta love it!
I wish you all a least 1 really good neighbour who becomes a friend.

Monday, June 06, 2005

We Want To Relieve Their Debt?

The tsunami has apparently uncovered a dirty little secret along the shores of Somalia. Tonnes of toxic waste from EU companys have been washed ashore from illegally dumped barrels which were dug up by the churning ocean. This dumping was enabled by some Somali warlords who profited hansomely from charging for access to 'their' shores throughout the '90s.
Now many Somalis are suffering illnesses - from unusual infections to symptoms similar to radiation sickness.
How is it I found out about this in the June edition of Surfer mag?
Did you know about this?
Shouldn't it be a bigger story? - it would be if it was happening to a 1st world coastline, dontcha think?
Next month Live8 will be encouraging the G8 to forgive 3rd world debt, including Somalia.
I agree that 3rd world debt is a millstone around the necks of many poorer countries but before we go forgiving debt all over the place, can we have a gander at the regimes of these countries & maybe ask them for a little more humanity, a little more responsibility, a little less selfishness in exchange for forgiving the debt?

I suggest Googling 'tsunami + toxic waste' to find out more.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Stupid Is As Stupid Builds


If you live on a hill / cliff / edge / ledge / side of a mountain, you have to know there's a chance you might slide down.
When you look at the coast of Southern California, you can see how the ocean & the rains have eroded the land.
That's not gonna stop just because you've built a bungalow / cottage / house / McMansion / mausoleum with a great view.
The saddest part of this latest man-made disaster is the land will be reclaimed / reconstructed /rebuilt instead of being rested & released to do what comes naturally.
May I suggest Bluebird Canyon National Park?