Build Date: Wed Apr 2 02:20:23 2025 UTC
Porn dogs sniffin the wind for something violent that they can do
-- Underworld
How a Bad U.S. Law becomes a Bad International Law
2001-08-19 12:42:18
If you've been paying attention for these last few weeks, you know by now that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a rotten piece of law with over-zealous, unconstitutional restrictions on researchers. Finding a flaw in some company's copy protection software, or discussing that flaw in public, could land you in jail. Not content to wreck the U.S. Constitution, Hollywood's lawyers are now trying to incorporate the DMCA's restrictions into international law by getting its provisions added to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) treaty.
If you think this is a BAD IDEA, you need to speak up now. According to a recent EFF Alert, "The public must intervene to express disapproval of the FTAA's proposed anti-circumvention measures in order to correct this trend in copyright law. FTAA is currently accepting public feedback on the proposed treaty language until August 22."
The EFF has an excellent page on what you can do and who you can write to. Check it out.
Letters really do have an impact on what public figures do and more importantly, how they vote. They have full-time staff members who read and tally letters, figuring out which direction the public is leaning. Congresspeople have a point system for ranking the public's input. Letters get the most points, then Telexes, then FAXes, followed by phone calls. E-mail is hardly considered at all. If you want to have an impact, write a letter.
But do it soon. August 22nd is approaching fast.
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A Day in the Life of a Beverotologist
It was starting to look like a very boring Saturday, trapped as I was in the suburban wastelands of the outer Bay Area, so I called my Able Assistant (AA) and proposed that we perform some Spocktail field tests. For some time I've been working on creating the quintessential cinematic beverage and even tho' SMRL does most of its testing during nocturnal hours, this seemed an opportune time to roll up the sleeves of our labcoats and get some science done. While the beverotology creation tested this day (The Neurotoxin) must be deemed a success, this article focuses more the journey of the experimenters, rather then the science of beverotology. (More...)
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Skunk School -- Learn Why Not To Keep Skunks As Pets
There is an alarming trend in pet purchasing habits this fall. People inspired by the WWII film, "Life is Beautiful" -- the one with that annoying Italian guy -- are buying descented skunks by the millions. (More...)
