Enemies of freedom don’t get my business!

When amazon dropped wikileaks from it’s servers under government pressure without any actual criminal or copyright wrongdoing they showed where they stood in regards to the first amendment.  Anyone who disregards their principals at the approach of a powerful adversary is spineless.  Without proof, or at least due process, we are innocent in this country.    At least that is how it is supposed to be.  I encourage all holiday shoppers to avoid amazon.com.  These are scary times and we don’t need our interent providers abusing their authority and helping censor our internet.  Now dyndns.com joins the ranks of the enemies of freedom.  I did business with them for years, but no longer.  If you stand against freedom, i will vote in the most powerful way i have:  with my wallet.

When COICA came up it looked dangerous, however it turns out that it’s power was already granted inside the DMCA.  The government can already seize any website that they even suspect of copyright infringement.   however, the US government does not copyright its documents, and thus wikileaks was a terrible target.  These laws should not apply at all.  Using these methods to silence dissenters is NEVER effective.  especially in this: the information age.

Feeling Blu.

Blu-ray LogoJust a few days after acquiring my new Blu-ray burner, i’m already transcoding my first HD movie. After an hour to rip, i must wait nearly 3 hours to transcode. i don’t know why i expected it to be more difficult then it was.   Perhaps i should wait to see the output before making such a boast.  Before you cry DMCA, remember that fair use allows me to make any additional copies of media that are required to play it. How else am i supposed to play Prestige on my iPad in HD?  don’t answer that.  We’ll let the lawyers fight it out.

Even Burning Man has fine print!

Did you know that the Burning Man Organization owns the copyright to all pictures taken on the playa?  they do.  Did you read the fine print when you bought your ticket?
Why would BMO—the organizer of an “an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance”—undermine speech and creativity like this? BMO claims that the terms in the Burning Man ticket agreement are necessary to protect Black Rock City’s unique culture and the privacy of its participants. Furthermore, BMO points out that the limitations are rarely enforced and they only claim copyright if the photos are used in a way BMO doesn’t authorize. By claiming copyright in all photographs taken at the event, BMO can use the streamlined “notice and takedown” process enshrined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to quickly remove unapproved photos from the Internet.
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