p2pnet World Headlines – Aug 5, 2009
Twitter, WordPress, Ning & GoDaddy All Sued In Mistargeted Lawsuit Over Defamation TechDirt
… However, rather than just sue those folks responsible for the message, Neiditch’s lawyers appear to have sued pretty much every company that these messages could loosely be associated with, including Twitter, WordPress, Ning, and GoDaddy.
LimeWire chairman: P2P concerns overblown ComputerWorld
Music industry behind FUD, says Mark Gorton – …What he failed to mention is that in order to achieve that result he had to have taken that computer and installed a previous version of LimeWire on it. He then, really, deliberately had to go and remove all of the security settings on it, ignore countless warnings and consciously share file by file all of the files he was talking about. He then had to uninstall LimeWire from that computer and then reinstall the newer version which just picked up the settings he previously had put on it. He gives the impression that any time you install Limewire it goes and shares all these files and that is just absolutely untrue. He manages to parse the facts cleverly enough to give a highly misleading picture of reality.
Music industry fuelling needless fears about P2P, says Limewire chief IT Business
In a conversation with Computerworld, Gorton flatly rejected some of the testimony. He claimed that concerns about data leaks on P2P networks are being fueled and orchestrated by music labels concerned more about copyright infringement on P2P networks than anything else.
Can We Abandon Confidentiality For Google Apps? SlashDot
“I provide IT services for medium-sized medical and law practices. Lately I have been getting a lot of feedback from doctors and lawyers who use gmail at home and believe that they can run a significant portion of their practice IT on Google Apps. From a support standpoint, I’d be happy to chuck mail/calendar service management into the bin and let them run with gmail, but for these businesses, there is significant legal liability associated with the confidentiality of their communications and records (e.g., HIPAA). For those with high-profile celebrity clients, simply telling them ‘Google employees can read your stuff’ will usually end the conversation right there. But for smaller practices, I often get a lot of push-back in the form of ‘What’s wrong with trusting Google?’ and ‘Google’s not interested in our email/calendar.’ Weighing what they see as a tiny legal risk against the promise of Free IT Stuff(TM) becomes increasingly lopsided…
[Canada PM in making] Ignatieff joins Writers’ Union of Canada Globe & Mail
With the issue of copyright reform at the forefront of the federal government’s agenda once again, the Writers’ Union of Canada has scored a major coup by enlisting Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff as its newest member. [Comment: You know who not to vote for. Maybe he will help author a Conference Board of Canada report next...]
“Sexting” craze on the rise among British children Montreal Gazette
A growing number of British teenagers are swapping sexually explicit images of themselves on mobile phones leaving them open to bullying and victimization by their peers, police and a children’s charity said on Tuesday…. “We have seen an increase in children producing sexual images of themselves, and as a result we are seeing children’s normal sexual exploration being translated into public property,” she told Reuters.
Telstra keeps tabs on mobile customers with Openwave ITwire
Telstra has installed software from Openwave Systems to enable it to monitor all aspects of mobile subscribers’ data activity from a variety of sources, including on portal and open Internet browsing, mobile email messaging, video and audio streaming, device type, demographics and location.
Man’s genitals glued by three scorned lovers News AU
A married man has had his penis glued to his stomach by three woman who had discovered he was romantically involved with each of them. [Very sticky problem 
- Jon ]
Aussie government censorship plans are pointless The Inquirer
According to IT Wire, the state director of public prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery said that the “great rabbit proof fence” against porn will have only limited success if it manages to do anything at all…. Despite being as popular as a social disease, the Aussie Government’s disingenuous plans to force ISPs to install mandatory filters to block websites that have been “refused classification” are still being pushed ahead.
Broadband Is This Generation`s Highway System, FCC Chief Says Wired
Broadband is our generation`s infrastructure challenge, Genachowski said at a meeting of executives, doctors and health companies at the Lucile Packard Children`s Hospital at Stanford on Monday. It is as important as electricity and highways were for past generations. [Comment: Ah, a utility!]
Lawyers/Lobbyists Criticize Copyright Consultations Excess Copyright
Mr. Todd quotes two of Canada’s best known copyright lawyers, who are or have recently been actively registered lobbyists for major US entertainment industry interests, namely Glen Bloom and Barry Sookman, who have come out criticizing the consultations as unnecessary. They are urging the government to get on with: * WIPO ratification (HK suggested translation = DMCA), * ISP liability (HK suggested translation = notice and takedown), * “re-calibrate the balance of copyright, so that rights holders can develop economic models that create businesses out of cultural products” (HK suggested translation = maxed out DRM +TPM and anti-circumvention), * deal with “a significant amount of unauthorized file sharing, and we need to modernize our laws to help re-calibrate the balance of copyright” (HK suggested translation = three strikes and/or law suits against individuals). There is the usual whining about the US “Special 301 Report.” In contrast, and with a breath of fresh air, Colleen Spring Zimmerman, who has not been a registered lobbyist, calls for a look at the Copyright Board. She: * “suggests the government`s top priorities should including tinkering with the Copyright Board of Canada, which plays a key role in setting tariffs, for example. She says the jurisdiction of the board should be reconsidered, while a broader revamping should also be investigated.”
Ontario man leader of notorious pranksters, website claims Ottawa Citizen
[Comment: Ontario guy Gets FBI attention for pranks pulled on American's that, "which in the past had convinced its victims to smash televisions, publicly strip off clothing and drink urine"]
EFF Defends Wikipedian’s Right to the Public Domain EFF
Here’s the issue at the heart of this dispute: does something have to be in the public domain in every country on the planet before it can be posted to the Internet anywhere?
EFF Releases Interim Report on the Automated Targeting System EFF
The EFF today released an Interim Report on the Automated Targeting System (ATS) through which the Department of Homeland Security monitors and assigns risk assessment scores to Americans and others who cross into or out of the United States. The data reviewed under the ATS system includes seven large government databases, plus the Passenger Name Record data from the airlines (which includes data like whether you’ve ordered a Muslim or Hindu or Jewish special meal).
High Court shields database state from blame The Register
An entrepreneur whose fledgling business was ruined by a false entry in a court database has had his claim for compensation rejected by a High Court judge. The decision could set a broad and troubling precedent, because Mr Justice Bill Blair QC – brother of the former PM Tony Blair – ruled that the civil service cannot be found liable for the damage caused by its record keeping mistakes.
Cars.gov [DoT] Terms of Service: What Glenn Beck Gets Right and Wrong EFF
There’s an entertaining clip from Glenn Beck’s Fox News program making the rounds on the Internet lately, featuring this language from the Terms of Service for the “Cash for Clunkers” program:…
Student beaten to death at boot camp [Chinese student beaten to death at internet re-education camp] China Global Times
A teenager sent by his parents to a boot camp to cure his Internet addiction died after he was beaten by camp supervisors, police in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region claimed yesterday.
Video from EFF panel/audience discussion on using technology in repressive regimes BoingBoing
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Danny O’Brien sez, ….The talk starts around 56 minutes into this archive of the live feed; there’s also photos and links, twitter discussion.
U.S. Marine Corps Bans Social Networking Sites [Again] Business Week
Citing security concerns, the United States Marine Corps has issued an order banning access to social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter on its network for the next year. [Comment: You can't handle the truth!]
Heath Ledger targets whalers in new music video Reuters
An animated music video directed by the late actor Heath Ledger debuted on the Web on Tuesday, and it’s an attack on the whaling industry set to the song “King Rat” by alternative rock band Modest Mouse. The six-minute video cartoon uses irony to make a statement against whaling, by showing whales in a commercial vessel “hunting” for humans, which they harpoon, club to death and skin, before turning them into cookies. ….The online video debut was timed to coincide with the Tuesday release of Modest Mouse’s latest CD “No One’s First, and You’re Next,” which includes the song “King Rat.”
Bell Redirecting Failed DNS Lookups Michael Geist
For the past week, many people have written to me about Bell’s new policy of redirecting …
Marc - p2pnet
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
August, 2009
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August 5th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
“Student beaten to death at boot camp [Chinese student beaten to death at internet re-education camp] China Global Times
A teenager sent by his parents to a boot camp to cure his Internet addiction died after he was beaten by camp supervisors, police in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region claimed yesterday.”
That’s what China considers “re-education”…
August 5th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Just like the US believe in copyright “re-education”… wait till the jail terms come out.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:56 am
If you are talking to me, Marc, then I guess I didn’t spot it. Sue me. Maybe Jon did and will write on it tomorrow.
However, if you are just trolling to say a website has exactly 1 relevant topic more than p2pnet, then blow me.
Or maybe you lack tact like Mr. Griffin
