Hmmm.. a new twist to the megaupload story...
A rumour is going around that the reason Megaupload was shut down, has little or nothing to do with illegal filesharing.
The real reason MU has been hit so hard, is that they were developing a legal alternative to buying music from the record lables.
Artists would alow MU to play their works without charging the listers. The artists would be payed from advertising revenues. Kind of spotify but a little different. Quite a few artists were onboard already
This was percieved as a huge threat to the music industry fatcats. And, just days away from bringing this new idea online.... the whole MU gang gets busted.
Feels a little like corruption, doesnt it?
Thats cause it is....
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Monday, 13 February 2012
Friday, 20 January 2012
SOPA, PIPA and megaupload
So... the great US freedom loving nation strikes again.
With primary candidates rolling all over each other claiming they want "less government interference", with libertarian ideals being thrown around left right and centre, with the supreme court placing the "freedom of expression" of large corporations above the interests of individual Americans (see this) the new US approach to freedom becomes blatantly apparent.
SOPA and PIPA are under discussion, laws which expose a desire of government (enjoying broad bipartisan support btw) to have tools to censor internet. Meanwhile Megaupload gets taken off the air for alleged piracy.
SOPA and PIPA might still be described as mistakes out of ignorance of how internet works (the blanket type law now being described would take most social networks offline, as well as youtube, reddit, blogger, etc etc etc. This is because under the current proposals all it takes is one idiot posting copyrighted content on any part of the site (like uploading a video to youtube for example) for the state to have the right to take the root directory of that site offline), or false idealist thinking that such broad powers would "never get abused" (read a history book for gods sakes, these kinds of powers ALWAYS get abused!!).
The Megaupload raid however strikes me as a different matter. You see, Megaupload does a lot to remove illegal content from its sites.
Its developed a tool to remove illegal content automatically, they have given the owners of copyrights access to the site so they can remove illegal content, and its come to agreements with for example Universal about sharing copyrighted content under license.
Furthermore, the vast majority of Megaupload users use it for holiday photos and suchlike stuff. They now also have lost access to all their private and often irreplaceable belongings. (waiiiittt a minute! that means that these people are assumed guilty until they prove their innocence. Thats not quite how we practice law and fairness is it?)
So despite this organisation being one of the standard bearers for reason in the fight against illegal content, having dialogues with all parties involved (governments, industry and users), having shown clear efforts to comply with the law and being invaluable to many innocent users, its being censored off the net. Furthermore, the owners have been arrested in an international raid (isnt this what we expect when people plant bombs or deal huge amounts of drugs? I mean, against nerds????). This didnt even happen in the case of youtube, which had far more easy to find illegal content.
Anonymous is taking revenge. I personally dont think they can have a meaningful impact on the situation (after all, the biggest demonstrations in history were also ignored by our "democratically elected representatives"), but I support them in so far that someone needs to cry out against this outrage.
Is illegal file-sharing really the fight we want to put our energy into right now?
Is this Americas priority? (btw. there has never been a link proven between piracy and reduction of sales for fat-cat artists and industry millionairs. In fact, many experts claim these things are entirely unrelated for various reasons).
Once we've brought those responsible for the current state of the world to justice, maybe.
By that I mean for instance criminal politicians (just an example of the bigger problems we have. It could have been a dozen others). Take Irak for example. Did you know that one of the last things Bush did in office was to silently push through a law that grants him and his cronies immunity from prosecution? (and that Obama supported this!!) Thats just about an admission of guilt in my book! Its also blatant corruption which Id normally expect from corrupt backwater third world countries. Not from the "standard-bearer for democracy and freedom!"
Or the reckless businessmen who caused the crises by bending the rules and being greedy. There is plenty of evidence that they knew exactly what they were doing, some former CEOs who walked away with millions could be charged tomorrow based on the evidence already collected. But I guess they are "job creators", so shouldnt be prosecuted... and looking at current unemployment figures, they've sure created lots of jobs the last decade!!
But as long as big problems such as these are left to go unchecked, as long as the rich and powerful can (figuratively) get away with murder and even walk away with a fat bonus I am not surprised that peoples faith in politicians and the rule of law dwindles. Add to that the blatant hypocrisy of politicians who want less government regulation for (purely profit driven) companies, but claim to have the right to regulate what consenting adults do in their bedroom, what I see on internet, what I read, and perhaps soon (if technically possible) what I think (but I do have the right to own a gun. Thats of course my god-given right. To be able to shoot my fellow men....).
Because of these reasons, injustices and imbalances I support the Anonymous actions. I dont think violence (even digital) is the answer, but in this current climate I support any organisation who cries out about about blatant injustice. As I see it, our voices will be ignored by the powers that be until we grab them by the ear and make them listen to us.
If taking down their websites is whats required to get their attention, so be it. Go LOIC!
With primary candidates rolling all over each other claiming they want "less government interference", with libertarian ideals being thrown around left right and centre, with the supreme court placing the "freedom of expression" of large corporations above the interests of individual Americans (see this) the new US approach to freedom becomes blatantly apparent.
SOPA and PIPA are under discussion, laws which expose a desire of government (enjoying broad bipartisan support btw) to have tools to censor internet. Meanwhile Megaupload gets taken off the air for alleged piracy.
SOPA and PIPA might still be described as mistakes out of ignorance of how internet works (the blanket type law now being described would take most social networks offline, as well as youtube, reddit, blogger, etc etc etc. This is because under the current proposals all it takes is one idiot posting copyrighted content on any part of the site (like uploading a video to youtube for example) for the state to have the right to take the root directory of that site offline), or false idealist thinking that such broad powers would "never get abused" (read a history book for gods sakes, these kinds of powers ALWAYS get abused!!).
The Megaupload raid however strikes me as a different matter. You see, Megaupload does a lot to remove illegal content from its sites.
Its developed a tool to remove illegal content automatically, they have given the owners of copyrights access to the site so they can remove illegal content, and its come to agreements with for example Universal about sharing copyrighted content under license.
Furthermore, the vast majority of Megaupload users use it for holiday photos and suchlike stuff. They now also have lost access to all their private and often irreplaceable belongings. (waiiiittt a minute! that means that these people are assumed guilty until they prove their innocence. Thats not quite how we practice law and fairness is it?)
So despite this organisation being one of the standard bearers for reason in the fight against illegal content, having dialogues with all parties involved (governments, industry and users), having shown clear efforts to comply with the law and being invaluable to many innocent users, its being censored off the net. Furthermore, the owners have been arrested in an international raid (isnt this what we expect when people plant bombs or deal huge amounts of drugs? I mean, against nerds????). This didnt even happen in the case of youtube, which had far more easy to find illegal content.
Anonymous is taking revenge. I personally dont think they can have a meaningful impact on the situation (after all, the biggest demonstrations in history were also ignored by our "democratically elected representatives"), but I support them in so far that someone needs to cry out against this outrage.
Is illegal file-sharing really the fight we want to put our energy into right now?
Is this Americas priority? (btw. there has never been a link proven between piracy and reduction of sales for fat-cat artists and industry millionairs. In fact, many experts claim these things are entirely unrelated for various reasons).
Once we've brought those responsible for the current state of the world to justice, maybe.
By that I mean for instance criminal politicians (just an example of the bigger problems we have. It could have been a dozen others). Take Irak for example. Did you know that one of the last things Bush did in office was to silently push through a law that grants him and his cronies immunity from prosecution? (and that Obama supported this!!) Thats just about an admission of guilt in my book! Its also blatant corruption which Id normally expect from corrupt backwater third world countries. Not from the "standard-bearer for democracy and freedom!"
Or the reckless businessmen who caused the crises by bending the rules and being greedy. There is plenty of evidence that they knew exactly what they were doing, some former CEOs who walked away with millions could be charged tomorrow based on the evidence already collected. But I guess they are "job creators", so shouldnt be prosecuted... and looking at current unemployment figures, they've sure created lots of jobs the last decade!!
But as long as big problems such as these are left to go unchecked, as long as the rich and powerful can (figuratively) get away with murder and even walk away with a fat bonus I am not surprised that peoples faith in politicians and the rule of law dwindles. Add to that the blatant hypocrisy of politicians who want less government regulation for (purely profit driven) companies, but claim to have the right to regulate what consenting adults do in their bedroom, what I see on internet, what I read, and perhaps soon (if technically possible) what I think (but I do have the right to own a gun. Thats of course my god-given right. To be able to shoot my fellow men....).
Because of these reasons, injustices and imbalances I support the Anonymous actions. I dont think violence (even digital) is the answer, but in this current climate I support any organisation who cries out about about blatant injustice. As I see it, our voices will be ignored by the powers that be until we grab them by the ear and make them listen to us.
If taking down their websites is whats required to get their attention, so be it. Go LOIC!
Saturday, 13 February 2010
Interwebz censorship
China had been censoring the Internet for decades, and being criticized for it. See also the recent withdrawal of Google from China, as it refuses to filter its search results any longer.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Myanmar, Iran, Pakistan, Cuba, North Korea, etc , there are quite a few countries doing it. But these countries are not considered to be free, democratic & enlightened, are they?
But... most of Europe censors internet, the US, Canada, most countries censor try to have some content blocked. The main difference is that in most countries considered to be free, the filter is non-mandatory for USPs, and the sites blocked break Laws.
Now Australia is experimenting with a mutiple Million dollar webfilter. And they intend to block more than just illegal content. Pornography of woman with small breasts is an example. Its 100% legal, but as it might be confused with something illegal (child pornography) its best to ban it anyway, right?
WRONG!!! without hard rules to govern a filter, it can (and thus invariably will) be abused. The absence of hard rules allows the than dominant opinion bearer to stifle any other opinions. And the Nets greatest achievement was in fact the variety of opinions that could be found, mixing & coexisting.
Progress will be retarded, freedom will be lost, people will be persecuted for their opinions...
Take an example: Up to a bit more than a decade ago (1996), Gay people were persecuted in certain parts of Australia. Now dont get me wrong, Im not saying that Australians are backward or homophobes. Just that public opinion can change quite rapidly, and something which is now considered the most normal thing in the world (womans right to vote, the right of consenting adults to make love to each other) has a few short years ago been something people had to fight for.
Censorship is one of the main tools to stifle those types of progress. Therefore its used mainly by regimes which actively try to maintain the status quo, if necessary with force.
Im very disappointed that an an enlightened country like Australia would even consider setting such a dangerous precedent.
People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Myanmar, Iran, Pakistan, Cuba, North Korea, etc , there are quite a few countries doing it. But these countries are not considered to be free, democratic & enlightened, are they?
But... most of Europe censors internet, the US, Canada, most countries censor try to have some content blocked. The main difference is that in most countries considered to be free, the filter is non-mandatory for USPs, and the sites blocked break Laws.
Now Australia is experimenting with a mutiple Million dollar webfilter. And they intend to block more than just illegal content. Pornography of woman with small breasts is an example. Its 100% legal, but as it might be confused with something illegal (child pornography) its best to ban it anyway, right?
WRONG!!! without hard rules to govern a filter, it can (and thus invariably will) be abused. The absence of hard rules allows the than dominant opinion bearer to stifle any other opinions. And the Nets greatest achievement was in fact the variety of opinions that could be found, mixing & coexisting.
Progress will be retarded, freedom will be lost, people will be persecuted for their opinions...
Take an example: Up to a bit more than a decade ago (1996), Gay people were persecuted in certain parts of Australia. Now dont get me wrong, Im not saying that Australians are backward or homophobes. Just that public opinion can change quite rapidly, and something which is now considered the most normal thing in the world (womans right to vote, the right of consenting adults to make love to each other) has a few short years ago been something people had to fight for.
Censorship is one of the main tools to stifle those types of progress. Therefore its used mainly by regimes which actively try to maintain the status quo, if necessary with force.
Im very disappointed that an an enlightened country like Australia would even consider setting such a dangerous precedent.
People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.
Monday, 21 September 2009
Sex Offender 2
the more I think about it, the more Im deeply troubled about the plight of Helen Goddard
Im just going to throw out a few thoughts. They wont be fair (not claiming to be either), they wont be balanced. They should be thought provocing. thats all.
1) as long as I read about under 16s stabing each other in gang related crime, I think the police & justice should stop worrying about a 16 year old having consensual sex.
2) I mentioned that I feel the parents are the only ones who are benefiting from the conviction. that seems pretty harsh, doesnt it?
Well, lets re-examine the facts..
a) prestigious school in central london. child prodigy teacher etc.
Conclusion: wealthy parents.
Much more so that the parents of for instance Shakilus Townsend (randomly picked case). he was murdered in London. Every month someone underaged is murdered in London.
conclusion: root cause of teen killings not yet found. More work needed. (but they are too busy convicting someone of having underaged, consentual sex!)
So are we back to class justice? A small crime to a rich kid merits as much attention as a big crime to a poor kid?
3) At what age do kids in the UK on average have their first sexual experience?
Lets assume 16. (and I think that’s quite conservative, I lost mine when I was 12…).
In what percentage of this, is the partner 18+?
Id say more than 5 %. Especially if you accept that girls are more mature than boys at that age, and that having a adult boyfriend with a car (or at least a license) would be pretty handy. Being above the 5% threshold makes it (in scientific terms) significant.
So in convicting this girl for something which a significant portion of us have done ourselves, we’ve just made a sham out of justice. Would you (if you're one of the significant 5%) consider it fair or desirable if we went back to the partner you lost your innocence with, and chucked them in jail for it?
4) What harm is coming to the daughter? Does that justify the harm done to the teacher? And is this "justice" removing any harm? Who is feeling better now? (the pare..)
Who are we serving here? Cause there is someone paying a high price, so we’d better make pretty damn sure we know that its doing some good…
dont get me wrong. Im not saying the teacher should walk away scott free. She had an intimate relationship with a pupil, and thats not ok. Trust etc damaged, school rep hurt, not a clever or good thing to do, and some consequence should be attached to it.
But this seems more like a case for a reprimand, losing a job and having a damaged reputation. Perhaps a fine would be in order (seems too much to me already).
But JAIL???
Really, we think that in our society, someone who does this should be sent to JAIL?? For 15 months??
Im just going to throw out a few thoughts. They wont be fair (not claiming to be either), they wont be balanced. They should be thought provocing. thats all.
1) as long as I read about under 16s stabing each other in gang related crime, I think the police & justice should stop worrying about a 16 year old having consensual sex.
2) I mentioned that I feel the parents are the only ones who are benefiting from the conviction. that seems pretty harsh, doesnt it?
Well, lets re-examine the facts..
a) prestigious school in central london. child prodigy teacher etc.
Conclusion: wealthy parents.
Much more so that the parents of for instance Shakilus Townsend (randomly picked case). he was murdered in London. Every month someone underaged is murdered in London.
conclusion: root cause of teen killings not yet found. More work needed. (but they are too busy convicting someone of having underaged, consentual sex!)
So are we back to class justice? A small crime to a rich kid merits as much attention as a big crime to a poor kid?
3) At what age do kids in the UK on average have their first sexual experience?
Lets assume 16. (and I think that’s quite conservative, I lost mine when I was 12…).
In what percentage of this, is the partner 18+?
Id say more than 5 %. Especially if you accept that girls are more mature than boys at that age, and that having a adult boyfriend with a car (or at least a license) would be pretty handy. Being above the 5% threshold makes it (in scientific terms) significant.
So in convicting this girl for something which a significant portion of us have done ourselves, we’ve just made a sham out of justice. Would you (if you're one of the significant 5%) consider it fair or desirable if we went back to the partner you lost your innocence with, and chucked them in jail for it?
4) What harm is coming to the daughter? Does that justify the harm done to the teacher? And is this "justice" removing any harm? Who is feeling better now? (the pare..)
Who are we serving here? Cause there is someone paying a high price, so we’d better make pretty damn sure we know that its doing some good…
dont get me wrong. Im not saying the teacher should walk away scott free. She had an intimate relationship with a pupil, and thats not ok. Trust etc damaged, school rep hurt, not a clever or good thing to do, and some consequence should be attached to it.
But this seems more like a case for a reprimand, losing a job and having a damaged reputation. Perhaps a fine would be in order (seems too much to me already).
But JAIL???
Really, we think that in our society, someone who does this should be sent to JAIL?? For 15 months??
Friday, 5 December 2008
Action today!
Global warming....
Some people still think that its nothing more than a big conspiracy of "lefty-greeny-treehuggers" to damn cars and industryl, so we all can go back to the middle ages. Im not sure why said shrub fornicators would want that, but lets just say that they have some vague reason for it.
On the other hand, I dont really think there is any serious doubt within the scientific community that man is having a profound effect on our world, and that one of the many ways this is showing is in the temerature. Dont be fooled into thinking that that is the only dissaster waiting to happen though. Polution is still rising, species are still dying off at an alarming rate (Each year as many as 50,000 species disappear, which is roughly 100 to 1000 times the "normal" rate), habitat destruction is making sure the damage can never be repaired (well, not in a timescale I can work with, after the dinosaurs died off, it took 30 million years to "repair the damage") and potentially hazardous instalations / weapons / technologies are becoming more and more abundant worldwide.
So, when a credit crisis occured, and the bankaccounts of the superrich were in danger of NOT GROWING QUITE AS FAST (cause thats all it is really), we found a staggering 2 and a half TRILLION dollars! (actually 2380 Bn from europe and the US alone) within less than a year.
However, to keep this ball of life on which we live suitable to sustain our childeren as well as our retirement, we fail to faind even 1% of this. Kind of says something horrible about our priorities. Quite franky, these figures scare me and make me very angry.
Today I heard of a new effort to focus on at leeast the most visible of these problems, global warming. I recieved an email stating the following, and I would really like to share this with you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friends
This Saturday December 6 is the Global Day of Action on Climate Change.
Millions of activists worldwide will take action to show how much they care
about our planet, and to point out the urgency of solving the current climate
crisis. You can be part of this, either by joining events near you, or by taking
action online.
We have a really simple action for you to do right now that could make a big
difference!
Getting people to listen and talk about their concerns is the first step to
getting them to change and take action. Today, we're asking you to help us
by taking part in a conversation about climate change on YouTube - the
world's most popular video sharing website. On Saturday we're hoping
that YouTube's “most commented” video will be about climate change,
bringing the issue to the attention of millions people.
This is what we need you to do:
1. Sign into your YouTube account or create one if you don't have one
already.
2. Watch this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?
3. Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below the video
4. Tell all your friends
Please help get the conversation going and ensure that on the Global Day of
Action on Climate Change everybody is talking about the climate.
When you're done, why not check out our new blog, with all the latest news
on the UN climate talks in Poznan'?
http://www.foei.org/en/blog
Many thanks,
The Friends of the Earth International secretariat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Come on, be a sport and take some action. We all talk about it. We all know better than the politicians. So now there is a chance to actually do something (even if it is something quite small), and I for one am taking it!
So please join me, take 5 minutes to watch the movie & leave a comment. And perhaps try to do that little bit more in your personal life to contribute to our species survival.
Thanks!
Ps. Ive attached the youtube film here
Some people still think that its nothing more than a big conspiracy of "lefty-greeny-treehuggers" to damn cars and industryl, so we all can go back to the middle ages. Im not sure why said shrub fornicators would want that, but lets just say that they have some vague reason for it.
On the other hand, I dont really think there is any serious doubt within the scientific community that man is having a profound effect on our world, and that one of the many ways this is showing is in the temerature. Dont be fooled into thinking that that is the only dissaster waiting to happen though. Polution is still rising, species are still dying off at an alarming rate (Each year as many as 50,000 species disappear, which is roughly 100 to 1000 times the "normal" rate), habitat destruction is making sure the damage can never be repaired (well, not in a timescale I can work with, after the dinosaurs died off, it took 30 million years to "repair the damage") and potentially hazardous instalations / weapons / technologies are becoming more and more abundant worldwide.
So, when a credit crisis occured, and the bankaccounts of the superrich were in danger of NOT GROWING QUITE AS FAST (cause thats all it is really), we found a staggering 2 and a half TRILLION dollars! (actually 2380 Bn from europe and the US alone) within less than a year.
However, to keep this ball of life on which we live suitable to sustain our childeren as well as our retirement, we fail to faind even 1% of this. Kind of says something horrible about our priorities. Quite franky, these figures scare me and make me very angry.
Today I heard of a new effort to focus on at leeast the most visible of these problems, global warming. I recieved an email stating the following, and I would really like to share this with you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friends
This Saturday December 6 is the Global Day of Action on Climate Change.
Millions of activists worldwide will take action to show how much they care
about our planet, and to point out the urgency of solving the current climate
crisis. You can be part of this, either by joining events near you, or by taking
action online.
We have a really simple action for you to do right now that could make a big
difference!
Getting people to listen and talk about their concerns is the first step to
getting them to change and take action. Today, we're asking you to help us
by taking part in a conversation about climate change on YouTube - the
world's most popular video sharing website. On Saturday we're hoping
that YouTube's “most commented” video will be about climate change,
bringing the issue to the attention of millions people.
This is what we need you to do:
1. Sign into your YouTube account or create one if you don't have one
already.
2. Watch this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?
3. Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below the video
4. Tell all your friends
Please help get the conversation going and ensure that on the Global Day of
Action on Climate Change everybody is talking about the climate.
When you're done, why not check out our new blog, with all the latest news
on the UN climate talks in Poznan'?
http://www.foei.org/en/blog
Many thanks,
The Friends of the Earth International secretariat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Come on, be a sport and take some action. We all talk about it. We all know better than the politicians. So now there is a chance to actually do something (even if it is something quite small), and I for one am taking it!
So please join me, take 5 minutes to watch the movie & leave a comment. And perhaps try to do that little bit more in your personal life to contribute to our species survival.
Thanks!
Ps. Ive attached the youtube film here
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Irrepressible.info
An initiative of Amnesty international to counter internet censor.
Just add the banner below to your blog & it will display fragments of censored material.
The net should remain free & uncensored!
2011 Edit: Its been discontinued for some reason... A shame, I liked it!
Just add the banner below to your blog & it will display fragments of censored material.
The net should remain free & uncensored!
2011 Edit: Its been discontinued for some reason... A shame, I liked it!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
