Sunday, 27 March 2011
Iron Sky Teaser
"Towards the end of World War II the Nazi scientists made a significant breakthrough in anti-gravity. From a secret base built in the Antarctic, the first Nazi spaceships were launched in late ‘45 to found the military base Schwarze Sonne (Black Sun) on the dark side of the Moon. This base was to build a powerful invasion fleet and return to take over the Earth once the time was right.
Now it’s 2018, and it’s the time for the first American Moon landing since the 70′s. Meanwhile the Nazi invasion, that has been over 70 years in the making, is on its way, and the world is goose-stepping towards its doom. The three main characters of the story are Renate Richter (Julia Dietze), Klaus Adler (Götz Otto), and James Washington (Christopher Kirby).
Iron Sky is a science fiction comedy being produced by Blind Spot Pictures and Energia Productions in Finland, and co-produced by 27 Films in Germany and New Holland Pictures in Australia. Iron Sky has been filmed, the principal photography took place in Germany in November-December 2010 and in Australia in January-February 2011. We are currently going through the post-production that takes the better part of the year."
http://www.ironsky.net/site/
Alison Krauss and Union Station @ Louisville Palace Kentucky April 29-30, 2002
1. Let Me Touch You for Awhile, 2. Choctaw Hayride,3. The Lucky One, 4. Baby Now That I've Found You, 5. Bright Sunny South, 6. Every Time You Say Goodbye, 7. Tiny Broken Heart, 8. Cluck Old Hen, 9. Stay, 10. Broadway, 11. Ghost in This House, 12. Forget About It, 13. Faraway Land, 14. A Tribute to Peador O'Donnell / Monkey Let the Hogs Out
15. The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn, 16. Take Me for Longing, 17. I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow, 18. Maybe, 19. We Hide & Seek, 20. But You Know I Love You, 21. When You Say Nothing At All, 22. New Favorite, 23. Oh, Atlanta
Alison Krauss (vocals, fiddle); Ron Block (vocals, guitar, banjo, dobro); Dan Tyminski (vocals, guitar, mandolin); Barry Bates (vocals, acoustic bass); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Larry (drums, percussion)
Lucky in Kentucky!!
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Majority not blaming God
Americans are a religious lot – most of them believe in a personal God who is in control of everything that happens in the world – but a new survey finds that Americans are more likely to attribute the increased severity of natural disasters to global climate change than to signs of apocalyptic biblical prophecy.
The new PRRI/RNS Religion News Survey was conducted by Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with Religion News Service following the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It found that:
The survey shows Americans are more likely to attribute the increased severity of natural disasters to global climate change than to signs of apocalyptic biblical prophecy.
The new PRRI/RNS Religion News Survey was conducted by Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with Religion News Service following the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It found that:
- 7-in-10 Americans see God as a person with whom one can have a relationship, and a majority (56%) say God is in control of everything that happens in the world.
- However, less than 4-in-10 (38%) believe earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters are a sign from God; and even fewer (29%) believe that God sometimes punishes nations for the sins of some of its citizens.
- The one exception to this pattern is found among white evangelical Protestants.
- Nearly 6-in-10 (59%) white evangelicals also believe that natural disasters are a sign from God. Only about one-third of Catholics (31%) and white mainline Protestants (34%) believe natural disasters are a sign from God.
- A majority (53%) of white evangelicals believe that God punishes nations for the sins of its citizens–a view held by just 1-in-5 white mainline Protestants and Catholics.
The survey shows Americans are more likely to attribute the increased severity of natural disasters to global climate change than to signs of apocalyptic biblical prophecy.
- Nearly 6-in-10 (58%) Americans say that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence of global climate change, compared to 44% of Americans who say that the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence of what the Bible calls the ‘end times.’ White evangelical Protestants and Republicans are an exception to this pattern:
- Among White evangelicals, 67% believe that natural disasters are evidence of what the Bible calls the ‘end times’ compared to 52% who see it as evidence of global climate change.
- Among Republicans, 52% believe that natural disasters are evidence of what the Bible calls the ‘end times’ compared to 41% who see it as evidence of global climate change. Richard Farmer @'The Stump'
Q & A on Laws of War Issues in Libya
The following Questions and Answers (Q & A) address aspects of international humanitarian law (the laws of war) governing the armed conflict between the government of Libya and the international coalition, and between Libya and Libyan opposition armed groups. The purpose is to provide legal guidance on the fighting, including to the parties to the conflict and those with the capacity to influence them. This Q & A does not address the justifications or the legitimacy of resorting to war by any party.
By what authority was the no-fly zone against Libya created?
What does the no-fly zone in Libya provide?
What international humanitarian law is applicable in Libya?
What are the basic principles of the laws of war?
Do the laws of war apply to air warfare?
What laws of war apply to no-fly zones generally?
What targets are subject to military attack?
What kinds of targets may be attacked under SC Resolution 1973?
What are the obligations of the warring parties regarding fighting in populated areas?
What precautions must be taken in carrying out military attacks?
Are warring parties permitted to target infrastructure such as airports, roads, bridges and power stations?
May coalition forces attack Libyan radio and television stations?
What is meant by using human shields?
What obligations do warring parties have to humanitarian agencies?
Does international human rights law still apply in Libya?
Who can be held responsible for violations of international humanitarian law?
@'Human Rights Watch'
By what authority was the no-fly zone against Libya created?
What does the no-fly zone in Libya provide?
What international humanitarian law is applicable in Libya?
What are the basic principles of the laws of war?
Do the laws of war apply to air warfare?
What laws of war apply to no-fly zones generally?
What targets are subject to military attack?
What kinds of targets may be attacked under SC Resolution 1973?
What are the obligations of the warring parties regarding fighting in populated areas?
What precautions must be taken in carrying out military attacks?
Are warring parties permitted to target infrastructure such as airports, roads, bridges and power stations?
May coalition forces attack Libyan radio and television stations?
What is meant by using human shields?
What obligations do warring parties have to humanitarian agencies?
Does international human rights law still apply in Libya?
Who can be held responsible for violations of international humanitarian law?
@'Human Rights Watch'
Protesters set for London march against spending cuts
People from across the country are converging on London for a march in protest at the coalition government's spending cuts.
The Trades Union Congress predicts more than 100,000 people will join the march, to be policed by 4,500 police.The TUC said it was deploying more than 1,000 stewards to ensure the event remained "family friendly".
Ministers say the cuts are necessary to fix the public finances and critics must come up with an alternative.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said those taking part in the March for the Alternative will include community groups, pensioners and public sector workers.
He said they were urging the government to spend more public money - not less - on projects to create jobs and boost the economy, and to crack down on tax evasion and avoidance in order to claw back more for the Treasury.
'Mainstream voices'
The largest union involved, Unite, said so many of its members wanted to take part that it could not find enough coaches or trains to ferry them to London.
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey claimed the response showed that the public anger against the spending cuts was now palpable.
Andrew Burgin, secretary for campaign group Coalition of Resistance, said he thought it would be a "massive demonstration".
More than 600 coaches are due to take people to London on Saturday morning, with marchers planning to assemble from 1100 GMT on Victoria Embankment and Lower Thames Street.
They will then walk to Hyde Park for a rally from 1330 GMT where speakers will include Labour leader Ed Miliband.He said on Friday that "the voices of the mainstream majority" would be making themselves heard.
"I think the government will be making a great mistake if they somehow dismiss all of the people on that march as troublemakers, or just 'the same old people'. They are not," he added.
Conservatives say Mr Miliband has no right to attend because Labour has not put forward a credible economic plan.
There are some concerns about disorder at the event, and a number of groups have been using the internet to call for the occupation of buildings in the West End.
The Metropolitan Police said it planned to station officers at certain sites thought likely be at risk, such as the Treasury and the entrance to Downing Street.
It has also written to businesses asking them to step up their security and to clear away any loose equipment such as ladders and dustbins that could be used as weapons.But police preparations have been criticised by former Met assistant commissioner Andy Hayman.
Writing on the website of the centre-right think tank Policy Exchange, he said there was "strong intelligence" that "extremist groups" were planning to cause trouble, and officers should be "more intrusive and active" to try to prevent it.
But the TUC hit back, insisting that months of planning and close co-operation with the police would ensure the march would be peaceful.
The TUC is urging people not to join feeder marches and to stagger their arrival and departure times.
Both the police and the TUC will be sending information and advice to protesters during the march via Twitter.
'Kettling' concerns
In a report published on Friday, Parliament's Joint Human Rights Committee praised the Met and the TUC for their close liaison.
But it said it was concerned about the possible use of containment - or "kettling" - on peaceful demonstrators, and expressed surprise that neither the police nor the organisers had raised issues around the technique in their planning.
The Met will for the first time allow observers from human rights group Liberty into its control room for the event.
Met Police commander Bob Broadhurst said he hoped for a peaceful demonstration, but added: "We might end up in some form of containment. We would hope we can keep that for as few people as possible and for as little time as possible."
@'BBC'
(GB2011)
Robots Arrive at Fukushima Nuclear Site with Unclear Mission
Concrete pump trucks sprayed about 130 tons of water into Daiichi's No. 4 reactor on Wednesday, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) reported (pdf). Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) injected about 35 tons of seawater into the spent fuel pool of the No. 3 reactor to keep the fuel rods there from overheating, according to NISA, which also observed "slightly blackish" smoke generated from the building housing that reactor. Seawater is also being injected into the No. 1 reactor as well as the spent fuel pool of the No. 2 reactor.
TEPCo summoned a small corps of military-grade robots last week from iRobot Corp. in Bedford, Mass. Japan's Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. last week sent its Disaster Monitoring Robot, or Moni-Robo, to the Daiichi site as well. Other robotics companies, including Canada's Inuktun Services, are also fielding inquiries about how their technology might be of use. Each of the robots of interest moves on tracks and features a mechanical hand that can be used to lift and manipulate objects...
Continue reading
Larry Greenemeier @'Scientific American'
Ad break #16
I know I said no more PC at the blog. However I agree with what the late Tony Wilson of Factory Records said, that if this song was by anyone else it would have been hailed as a masterpiece by everyone!
RIAA request for trillions in LimeWire copyright case is 'absurd,' judge says
The music industry's contention that file-sharing software maker LimeWire owes it trillions of dollars in damages for enabling the illegal distribution of 11,000 copyrighted songs is "absurd," a federal judge has ruled. In a scathing ruling filed earlier this month, Judge Kimba Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York flatly rejected the industry's claims that LimeWire should pay up to $150,000 for each download of some 11,000 songs included in the RIAA lawsuit.
The plaintiffs' position on statutory damages "offends the canon that we should avoid endorsing statutory interpretations that would lead to absurd results," Judge Wood wrote in a 14-page ruling. "If Plaintiffs were able to pursue a statutory damage theory based on the number of direct infringers per work, Defendants' damages could reach into the trillions."
Judge Wood last October had ordered LimeWire to cease its file-sharing operations after agreeing with the music industry's claims that the company was enabling and inducing massive copyright infringement...
The plaintiffs' position on statutory damages "offends the canon that we should avoid endorsing statutory interpretations that would lead to absurd results," Judge Wood wrote in a 14-page ruling. "If Plaintiffs were able to pursue a statutory damage theory based on the number of direct infringers per work, Defendants' damages could reach into the trillions."
Judge Wood last October had ordered LimeWire to cease its file-sharing operations after agreeing with the music industry's claims that the company was enabling and inducing massive copyright infringement...
Continue reading
Jaikumar Vijayan @'Computerworld'
It’s Time for the Recording Industry to Stop Blaming "Piracy" and Start Finding A New Way
As many — EFF included — have been saying for years, filesharing is not the reason that the recording industry has fallen on hard financial times. In fact, the recording industry’s complaints that the sky is falling really only apply to the recording industry, and not musicians and the fans, who have seen increased music purchases, increased artist salaries, and the availability of more music than ever before. And now two new reports further debunk the recording industry's myth.
First, the London School of Economics released a paper finding that while filesharing may explain some of the decline in sales of physical copies of recorded music, the decline “should be explained by a combination of factors such as changing patterns in music consumption, decreasing disposable household incomes for leisure products and increasing sales of digital content through online platforms.” And even if the sales of recorded music are down, there is an important distinction to draw: the recording industry may be hurting, but the music industry is thriving. For example, the LSE paper points out that in the UK in 2009, the revenues from live music shows outperformed recorded music sales.
We’ve also seen more and more artists making a go of it on their own. Rebecca Black, a 13-year-old, is reportedly netting nearly $25,000 a week from digital downloads of her hit song, "Friday." The band OK Go famously made a name for itself by self-producing widely popular music videos and then leaving a big record label that failed to “recognize the basic mechanics of the Internet” by attempting to prohibit embedding of the band's video content. As the lead singer noted, "[c]urbing the viral spread of videos isn't benefiting the company’s bottom line, or the music it's there to support." Even bands with record deals are finding different ways to make money. For example, the popular band the Black Keys makes 85% of its money from live shows.
Another recent study, this one by the Social Science Research Council, delves into international aspects of "piracy," especially in emerging markets, and finds unauthorized filesharing in some developing economies has actually created opportunities for media companies to come up with innovative business models that allow legal and widespread access to media goods. For example, in India, "where large domestic film and music industries dominate the national market, [large media companies] set prices to attract mass audiences, and in some cases compete directly with pirate distribution." The impact of this cannot be understated: in many of these emerging markets, the new business models are improving legal access to music and art that was previously unaffordable for many people.
The SSRC report also points out that, despite the content industry’s dire predictions, the media business is still thriving: "Software, DVD, and box office revenues in most middle-income countries have risen in the past decade — in some cases dramatically. Sales of CDs have fallen, but the overall music business, including performance, has grown."
Despite these realities, the policy debate continues to focus on enforcement and "strengthening intellectual property," which, SSRC rightly points out, is incredibly counterproductive and comes at a high social cost. Instead of discussing ways to make sure artists get paid for their work and fans have access to media goods, time and energy is wasted debating how to continue an enforcement policy that has failed to actually curb unauthorized filesharing.
We are encouraged to see studies like these that challenge policy makers to shift the tone of the debate to a more productive conversation about how to innovate and use new technologies to benefit artists and their fans. Because the bottom line is this: those who find ways to capitalize on new technologies will be the ones to succeed going forward.
Julie Samuels @'EFF'
First, the London School of Economics released a paper finding that while filesharing may explain some of the decline in sales of physical copies of recorded music, the decline “should be explained by a combination of factors such as changing patterns in music consumption, decreasing disposable household incomes for leisure products and increasing sales of digital content through online platforms.” And even if the sales of recorded music are down, there is an important distinction to draw: the recording industry may be hurting, but the music industry is thriving. For example, the LSE paper points out that in the UK in 2009, the revenues from live music shows outperformed recorded music sales.
We’ve also seen more and more artists making a go of it on their own. Rebecca Black, a 13-year-old, is reportedly netting nearly $25,000 a week from digital downloads of her hit song, "Friday." The band OK Go famously made a name for itself by self-producing widely popular music videos and then leaving a big record label that failed to “recognize the basic mechanics of the Internet” by attempting to prohibit embedding of the band's video content. As the lead singer noted, "[c]urbing the viral spread of videos isn't benefiting the company’s bottom line, or the music it's there to support." Even bands with record deals are finding different ways to make money. For example, the popular band the Black Keys makes 85% of its money from live shows.
Another recent study, this one by the Social Science Research Council, delves into international aspects of "piracy," especially in emerging markets, and finds unauthorized filesharing in some developing economies has actually created opportunities for media companies to come up with innovative business models that allow legal and widespread access to media goods. For example, in India, "where large domestic film and music industries dominate the national market, [large media companies] set prices to attract mass audiences, and in some cases compete directly with pirate distribution." The impact of this cannot be understated: in many of these emerging markets, the new business models are improving legal access to music and art that was previously unaffordable for many people.
The SSRC report also points out that, despite the content industry’s dire predictions, the media business is still thriving: "Software, DVD, and box office revenues in most middle-income countries have risen in the past decade — in some cases dramatically. Sales of CDs have fallen, but the overall music business, including performance, has grown."
Despite these realities, the policy debate continues to focus on enforcement and "strengthening intellectual property," which, SSRC rightly points out, is incredibly counterproductive and comes at a high social cost. Instead of discussing ways to make sure artists get paid for their work and fans have access to media goods, time and energy is wasted debating how to continue an enforcement policy that has failed to actually curb unauthorized filesharing.
We are encouraged to see studies like these that challenge policy makers to shift the tone of the debate to a more productive conversation about how to innovate and use new technologies to benefit artists and their fans. Because the bottom line is this: those who find ways to capitalize on new technologies will be the ones to succeed going forward.
Julie Samuels @'EFF'
Friday, 25 March 2011
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