I read today that the Bush administration would like to make 'Attempted' copyright infringement a crime. Reading this makes me red with anger. This is not the way to treat consumers. This is not the way to treat intellectual properties. This is not the way to treat free speech.
I really hope this law does not pass. I do not want it to pass because I know it will be miss used. I know that these laws will not be used against organized criminals who are running large scale pirating rings. The RIAA has already shown us they are going to abuse these laws. They will use laws will be used against college students and single mothers. They are going to use these laws to make examples of people. It just is not right.
These laws are promoted as protecting American workers and American business. In the end they will hurt American companies. They will limit the kinds of products that can be made. They will limit the ways people can use content. They will limit innovation. They will be a drag on American business as companies have to spend time protecting other companies copyrighted properties. Time to start contacting our congress people.
I do not expect Lindh's jail time to be reduced any time soon. I just do not see the Bush administration working that way. The government can always say that Lindh pleaded guilty. He knew his sentence when he entered his plea. No matter what else happens afterwards he had his chance.
I think this story is far from over. I really do not have an opinion one way or the other. I am just interested to see if the rest of the Guantanamo Bay "trials" have an impact on John Walker Lindh's status.
I wanted to keep Eric Laine's comments so I put them in an entry.
-----
"24" will not change because its creator, Joel Surnow, is a radical right-wing torture enthisiast. He is capitalizing on Americans' fear of terrorism to make money AND advance a militaristic political agenda. Anyone who is "entertained" by watching a man torture his own brother to the sound of agonizing screams should seek counselling. "24" was good for about 6 hours in 2001; in 2007 its tired, predictable rhythms combined with its reactionary message make it suitable only for those who would slow down to ponder roadkill.
From the New Yorker:
"The series, Surnow told me, is “ripped out of the Zeitgeist of what people’s fears are—their paranoia that we’re going to be attacked,” and it “makes people look at what we’re dealing with” in terms of threats to national security. “There are not a lot of measures short of extreme measures that will get it done,” he said, adding, “America wants the war on terror fought by Jack Bauer. He’s a patriot.”
For all its fictional liberties, “24” depicts the fight against Islamist extremism much as the Bush Administration has defined it: as an all-consuming struggle for America’s survival that demands the toughest of tactics. Not long after September 11th, Vice-President Dick Cheney alluded vaguely to the fact that America must begin working through the “dark side” in countering terrorism. On “24,” the dark side is on full view. Surnow, who has jokingly called himself a “right-wing nut job,” shares his show’s hard-line perspective. Speaking of torture, he said, “Isn’t it obvious that if there was a nuke in New York City that was about to blow—or any other city in this country—that, even if you were going to go to jail, it would be the right thing to do?”
There is a reason I love Thomas Friedman. I see that reason again when he writes about The silence that kills. Not only is he a great writer, he also writes what needs to be written.
ON Feb. 20, The Associated Press reported from Afghanistan that a suicide attacker disguised as a health worker blew himself up near "a crowd of about 150 people who had gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open an emergency ward at the main government hospital in the city of Khost." A few days later, at a Baghdad college, a female Sunni suicide bomber blew herself up amid students who were ready to sit for exams, killing 40 people.
Stop and think for a moment how sick this is. Then stop for another moment and listen to the silence. The Bush team is mute. It says nothing, because it has no moral authority. No one would listen. President Bush is losing a PR war to people who blow up emergency wards. Europeans are mute, lost in their delusion that this is all George Bush's and Tony Blair's fault.
I just watched Frontline: the lost year in iraq. I have heard many of these things before. What struck me was how bad of an idea trying to remove members of the Baath Party from the government. That might be the worst mistake of the 21th century so far.
What I did not know was that the Bush administration wanted to get out of there so badly at the end of the first year. They had to stay because getting the government going failed so badly. They wanted to get out of there, but they could not get the job done. It makes me wonder what it will take us to get out of Iraq in the end.
In the Mercury News today there is a commentary by Ted Galen Carpenter titled Keeping the Al-Qaida Threat in perspective. (the website has a different title for it). Lately the Bush Administration has been comparing "Islamic Fasists" to Nazis and the Cold War. The administration has received some heat for this, but few people have put together good arguments for why the administration is wrong.
I think that Ted Galen Carpenter makes some good points. During World War 2 Germany was the Second biggest economic power in the world. During the Cold War the Soviets were the Second biggest military power. I am not sure how you can determine Al-Qaida's power, but they are not that powerful. Even if they took over the whole Middle East, they would not be this powerful.
I heard Louise Richardson speak about the September 11th attacks on KQED Forum. She wants to remind everyone that every year six times as many people die from drunk drivers every year than died in the September 11th attacks. The number I found for 2002 was 17,419. People do not talk about outlawing drinking. I do not think people see it that way.
A few weeks ago I heard Rory Stewart on Fresh Air. He is a British diplomat and journalist who worked for the provincial governor in post-invasion Iraq. He wrote book about his experiences. I have not read his book yet.
He said a few things in the interview that I cannot get out of my head. One was about complaints about the Bush administration lack of planning for Post-war Iraq. He thinks that people put too much faith into planning. Very often plans do not survive the first few minutes of battle, he thinks that is the same is true for post war also. The US made mistakes right after the invasion, but these mistakes were not decisive. Even if people put more into planning, Iraq would still be a mess. He thinks it is a dangerous distraction to focus on the errors of the administration. He thinks we should not attack in the future.
He also thinks that the only way Iraq can function is for Iraqi leaders to make it work. The US and British to get out of the way. We step in too often and keep the Iraqis from working it out. This is the best argument for withdraw I have heard to this point.
This is the kind of story that I do not talk about with my friends. I know that tax revenues is not the type of things that the average blogger really geeks out about. We talk about politics a decent amount, but taxes seems to be one thing we keep away from.
I like this story. The basic story is that we would be in great shape if we were not in such bad shape. We are reducing the Deficit from really outrageously bad to just outrageously bad.
Here is my favorite quote:
"The long-term outlook is such a deep well of sorrow that I can't get much happiness out of this year," said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office and a former White House economist under President Bush.
Even when good things happen the world is still going to hell.
One of the ideas behind Stanley Milgram theory is that a lost-letter could get to the right person in only six hops. This sounds a little strange to me. When I think about Six Degrees of Separation, I do not see it this way. I count a lot of people in this that I would not ask a favor of. I can get to George W. Bush in three steps. It does not mean I can ask favors of the people between us. It is a question of how you define degrees of separation.
