Monday 30 January 2012
Dutch ISPs Refuse To Block The Pirate Bay
Two weeks ago, the Court of The Hague ruled that Ziggo, the largest ISP in the Netherlands, and competitor XS4ALL have to block access to The Pirate Bay.
The ruling was the first to bring broad censorship to the Netherlands and in a response XS4ALL said they were “bitterly disappointed”, noting that fundamental rights had been traded for “commercial interests.”
For BREIN, the Dutch anti-piracy group that started the court case, the verdict wasn’t quite enough. The Hollywood-backed group wasted no time issuing requests for other ISPs to block access to The Pirate Bay as well. Or else.
After internal discussions two large ISPs – KPN and T-Mobile – are now on record stating they will not honor BREIN’s request. This means that millions of Internet users in the Netherlands will still be able to access The Pirate Bay without having to go through proxies.
Speaking out against censorship, both Internet providers state they will only block The Pirate Bay following a court order and that innovation is a better way to deal with the problem of piracy.
“KPN sees the blocking of websites as a drastic measure for which a court order is required,” KPN said in a statement, adding that innovation is needed to curb piracy.
“KPN doesn’t believe a blockade is the right solution. What is needed are robust, attractive business models that are easy to use and offer a fair deal to both producers and consumers of content.”
T-Mobile also said that it will only respond to court orders, while it emphasized the value of an open Internet.
“T-Mobile strongly supports an open Internet and is fundamentally against shutting off access to websites. Dutch law is very clear when it comes to blocking access to the Internet. T-Mobile will only respond to a court ruling, not to demands from a private party such as BREIN.”
If BREIN follows up on threats that were made earlier, both ISPs can expect to be sued by the anti-piracy outfit in the near future. Ziggo and XS4ALL, meanwhile, are expected to enforce the blockade this coming Wednesday, February 1st.
Whether the blockade will have much of an effect is yet to be seen. Judging from what happened in other countries when the site was blocked, users will quickly find ways to route around the blockade to regain access to the world’s largest torrent site.
Ernesto @'TorrentFreak'
The ruling was the first to bring broad censorship to the Netherlands and in a response XS4ALL said they were “bitterly disappointed”, noting that fundamental rights had been traded for “commercial interests.”
For BREIN, the Dutch anti-piracy group that started the court case, the verdict wasn’t quite enough. The Hollywood-backed group wasted no time issuing requests for other ISPs to block access to The Pirate Bay as well. Or else.
After internal discussions two large ISPs – KPN and T-Mobile – are now on record stating they will not honor BREIN’s request. This means that millions of Internet users in the Netherlands will still be able to access The Pirate Bay without having to go through proxies.
Speaking out against censorship, both Internet providers state they will only block The Pirate Bay following a court order and that innovation is a better way to deal with the problem of piracy.
“KPN sees the blocking of websites as a drastic measure for which a court order is required,” KPN said in a statement, adding that innovation is needed to curb piracy.
“KPN doesn’t believe a blockade is the right solution. What is needed are robust, attractive business models that are easy to use and offer a fair deal to both producers and consumers of content.”
T-Mobile also said that it will only respond to court orders, while it emphasized the value of an open Internet.
“T-Mobile strongly supports an open Internet and is fundamentally against shutting off access to websites. Dutch law is very clear when it comes to blocking access to the Internet. T-Mobile will only respond to a court ruling, not to demands from a private party such as BREIN.”
If BREIN follows up on threats that were made earlier, both ISPs can expect to be sued by the anti-piracy outfit in the near future. Ziggo and XS4ALL, meanwhile, are expected to enforce the blockade this coming Wednesday, February 1st.
Whether the blockade will have much of an effect is yet to be seen. Judging from what happened in other countries when the site was blocked, users will quickly find ways to route around the blockade to regain access to the world’s largest torrent site.
Ernesto @'TorrentFreak'
Brownwashing: Why Green Consumers Buy Brown Things
Manufacturers have found a new way to appeal to eco-friendly consumers: Brown it. The Wall Street Journal lays out the trend: Dunkin' Donuts, Cinnabon, and Target are swapping their white napkins for brown ones. Seventh Generation dyes its translucent diapers brown. Cascade has introduced a new, fiber-heavy beige toilet paper it's dubbed "Moka."
When asked why they went brown, companies are transparent: The color "symbolizes" eco-friendliness. Brown paper products have been shown to make people "feel like they were doing something good for the environment." Consumers need "visual differentiation" to know which products are environmentally sound. It's not even so important that a product be brown, just "that it's not white."
The Journal points out the obvious: Brown doesn't necessarily mean green. Today, "white paper can be made from 100% recycled fibers and whitened without chemical chlorine, traditionally the primary complaint against it." Seventh Generation actually adds a step to the production process—brown pigmentation—to make its diapers appear eco. It's not clear whether Target, Dunkin', and Cinnabon's new napkins are any better for the environment than the old ones were, they're just browner.
And at this point, it doesn't really matter: Brown is firmly linked to green in the consumer's mind. Eco-minded consumers now reach for brown, flecked products because they assume less environmentally conscious paper companies would take pains to dye them white. In fact, they may be rushing to tint everything beige.
Amanda Hess @'GOOD'
When asked why they went brown, companies are transparent: The color "symbolizes" eco-friendliness. Brown paper products have been shown to make people "feel like they were doing something good for the environment." Consumers need "visual differentiation" to know which products are environmentally sound. It's not even so important that a product be brown, just "that it's not white."
The Journal points out the obvious: Brown doesn't necessarily mean green. Today, "white paper can be made from 100% recycled fibers and whitened without chemical chlorine, traditionally the primary complaint against it." Seventh Generation actually adds a step to the production process—brown pigmentation—to make its diapers appear eco. It's not clear whether Target, Dunkin', and Cinnabon's new napkins are any better for the environment than the old ones were, they're just browner.
And at this point, it doesn't really matter: Brown is firmly linked to green in the consumer's mind. Eco-minded consumers now reach for brown, flecked products because they assume less environmentally conscious paper companies would take pains to dye them white. In fact, they may be rushing to tint everything beige.
Amanda Hess @'GOOD'
RupertMurdochPR Not Rupert Murdoch
Story about how 90% of Australians won't pay for online content....paywalled twitpic.com/8ddfsp#chronicallyironic
Story about how 90% of Australians won't pay for online content....paywalled twitpic.com/8ddfsp
JShahryar Josh Shahryar
Finding comparisons of Oakland with Bahrain a bit idiotic? Maybe you should check this out: blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011… |#OO #OWS
Finding comparisons of Oakland with Bahrain a bit idiotic? Maybe you should check this out: blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011… |
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a new narrative experience that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. “Morris Lessmore” is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” is one of five animated short films that will be considered for outstanding film achievements of 2011 in the 84th Academy Awards ®.
Film Awards Won by “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
To date, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” film has drummed up fans all over the world taking home the following awards:
· Cinequest Film Fest: Best Animated Short
· Palm Springs International ShortFest: Audience Favorite Award
· SIGGRAPH: Best in Show
To enjoy “Morris Lessmore” and other Moonbot Apps please visit the following links:
tinyurl.com/lessmoreipad
tinyurl.com/numberlys
tinyurl.com/bullseyeapp
Via
Occupy Oakland January 28, 2012
Police round up Occupy Oakland protesters outside a downtown YMCA.: Spencer Mills (@OakFoSho)
Journalists—Myself Included—Swept Up in Mass Arrest at Occupy Oakland
Calligraphy Letterform Album
Johann Hering (?1580-1647) compiled his album of elaborate calligraphic letterforms, innovative type arrangements and traditional alphabets over a ten year period in the 1620s and 1630s in the Kulmbach region of Bavaria. (Or it was produced sometime during this time frame: it's not clear...)
MORE
Kalligraphische Schriftvorlagen von Johann Hering
Sunday 29 January 2012
therealdannyt Danny Thompson
driving up to Glasgow remembering my curly-haired mate.play a John Martyn song today...missing him and the phone calls..love ya! x
driving up to Glasgow remembering my curly-haired mate.play a John Martyn song today...missing him and the phone calls..love ya! x
ballardian Simon Sellars
'It's like a jingle sometimes' My adolescent memories ripped from my skull & shat on: Grandmaster Flash, The Message - theme for new Kia ad
'It's like a jingle sometimes' My adolescent memories ripped from my skull & shat on: Grandmaster Flash, The Message - theme for new Kia ad
♪♫ Dan Bull - Megaupload
How to be awesome:
1. Download my album : http://itsdanbull.com/face
2. Like me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/itsDanBull
3. Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/itsDanBull
4. Subscribe to me on YouTube: http://youtube.com/douglby
5. Add me on Google+: http://goo.gl/b8N35
6. ?????????
7. Profit
Now you can get the MP3 for free from here: http://mediafire.com/?ennu61ex30ba0bw
Ex-ruler charged with genocide in Guatemala
http://www.euronews.net/ Guatemala's former military dictator will face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in connection with the deaths of indigenous people killed under his rule.
A judge in the south American country has decided Efrain Rios Montt should be held accountable for brutality that occured while he was dicatator.
A judge in the south American country has decided Efrain Rios Montt should be held accountable for brutality that occured while he was dicatator.
Topiary
Shetland teenager Jake Davis accused of hacking into websites under the pseudonym ‘Topiary’ has had his trial delayed until 11 May.
Davis was due to enter a plea at Southwark Crown Court in London along with fellow accused hacker 19 year old Ryan Cleary, but the trial was pushed back due to a continuing investigation into the “possible complicity of others”, with the case being described a “significant and complex international investigation”.
Mr Davis was arrested by police in July 2011 at his address in Hoofields, Lerwick, before being flown to London where he spent five days in the cells. He was eventually bailed to his mother Jenny Davis’ home in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
Police identified him as ‘hacktivist’ Topiary, who had been a spokesman for widespread hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec.
He faces five charges, including conspiracy to carry out a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack on the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), in which their website would have been flooded with traffic to make it crash.
As part of his bail conditions, Mr Davis is not allowed access to the internet or a mobile phone. These same conditions have carried forward with the new plea date.
Via
Davis was due to enter a plea at Southwark Crown Court in London along with fellow accused hacker 19 year old Ryan Cleary, but the trial was pushed back due to a continuing investigation into the “possible complicity of others”, with the case being described a “significant and complex international investigation”.
Mr Davis was arrested by police in July 2011 at his address in Hoofields, Lerwick, before being flown to London where he spent five days in the cells. He was eventually bailed to his mother Jenny Davis’ home in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
Police identified him as ‘hacktivist’ Topiary, who had been a spokesman for widespread hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec.
He faces five charges, including conspiracy to carry out a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack on the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), in which their website would have been flooded with traffic to make it crash.
As part of his bail conditions, Mr Davis is not allowed access to the internet or a mobile phone. These same conditions have carried forward with the new plea date.
Via
Bahrain deports Australian over Facebook posts
An Australian English instructor went to Bahrain to teach at the state-run Polytechnic University. Unfortunately, he was forced to leave the country for posts he made on Facebook. Australian English instructor Tony Mitchell recently moved to Bahrain where he was offered a job at the state-run Polytechnic University. He described himself as a witness of the various horrifying events in the struggling country (see The Atlantic’s four-part series). Mitchell was eventually fired, evicted, and forced to flee because of posts he made on Facebook.
Bahrain’s government has been extremely thorough when trying to suppress any form of uprising. It has reached the point where the country is getting rid of anyone it can, just in case. At the university, investigations began in May 2011. Bahraini teachers were being identified from photographs taken at demonstrations showing they had attended the protests: Facebook was used to display them and pro-government supporters were asked to identify the circled faces so that they could be traced and detained.
One of the non-teaching staff was arrested and severely beaten, but was able to resume work. Students were also victimized: some were arrested while others were simply expelled. The rest tried attending class by passing through various check points as they commuted from their villages, which were being raided by police who regularly arrested suspects and damaged property.
A few were called to the administration building at the Polytechnic and taken to the nearby military building where they were all put in a room. They stayed in there all night and were interrogated the next morning. Some were handcuffed, hooded, and taken away on a bus, never to be seen again. Mitchell believed he was safe since the comments he had made on Facebook were not critical of the ruling family or the government. He said his posts simply tried to correct false or misleading information. On the other hand, he was unsure if he could continue working at the university if it was run by a government that resorted to unlawful arrests, torture, as well as identification from social networks.
Mitchell eventually received a text message asking him to visit John Scott, the Director of Human Resources, in the CEO’s office. The Ministry of Education knew all about Mitchell, and the comments he had made on Facebook. A number of his Facebook “friends” had kept copies of his posts, and they were presented to him, although he insists none of them could seriously be used to show that he was critical of the government.
Since classes finished in four weeks, Scott allowed Mitchell to continue teaching until June 30. He agreed to not making further comments on Facebook, as he did not want the university or anyone from management to get into trouble for his actions. Here’s how Mitchell felt about being fired: I had been sacked from my job, not because of my teaching ability or for any normal disciplinary reason, but because I had taken videos and made comments on Facebook. I now had to think of my future after June30, look for a new job somewhere and tell my wife that we had to leave our beautiful apartment and the life we enjoyed together in Bahrain.
On the other hand, I felt a huge sense of relief that I had been freed from having to work for the Bahraini government and that I would no longer have any association with them whatsoever.
Despite his promise, Mitchell couldn’t resist monitoring Facebook to keep track of the students that were being expelled. Some comments criticized Scott for the expulsions and for going back on his word that the Polytechnic would remain neutral. Mitchell knew Scott’s hands were tied by the Ministry so he posted the following comment: “I will tell you more about this after June 30th.”
Mitchell’s Facebook “friends” immediately informed the Minister of Education and the next morning, on June 14, he was called to the human resources director’s office and asked to leave immediately. The university had previously booked flights to Thailand for Mitchell and his wife. They were for July 1, but the university was willing to exchange the tickets. Mitchell asked if he could stay through the end of June as planned, but was quickly told he should seriously consider leaving the country as soon as possible. Mitchell and his wife flew out of Bahrain on June 23.
Via
Bahrain’s government has been extremely thorough when trying to suppress any form of uprising. It has reached the point where the country is getting rid of anyone it can, just in case. At the university, investigations began in May 2011. Bahraini teachers were being identified from photographs taken at demonstrations showing they had attended the protests: Facebook was used to display them and pro-government supporters were asked to identify the circled faces so that they could be traced and detained.
One of the non-teaching staff was arrested and severely beaten, but was able to resume work. Students were also victimized: some were arrested while others were simply expelled. The rest tried attending class by passing through various check points as they commuted from their villages, which were being raided by police who regularly arrested suspects and damaged property.
A few were called to the administration building at the Polytechnic and taken to the nearby military building where they were all put in a room. They stayed in there all night and were interrogated the next morning. Some were handcuffed, hooded, and taken away on a bus, never to be seen again. Mitchell believed he was safe since the comments he had made on Facebook were not critical of the ruling family or the government. He said his posts simply tried to correct false or misleading information. On the other hand, he was unsure if he could continue working at the university if it was run by a government that resorted to unlawful arrests, torture, as well as identification from social networks.
Mitchell eventually received a text message asking him to visit John Scott, the Director of Human Resources, in the CEO’s office. The Ministry of Education knew all about Mitchell, and the comments he had made on Facebook. A number of his Facebook “friends” had kept copies of his posts, and they were presented to him, although he insists none of them could seriously be used to show that he was critical of the government.
Since classes finished in four weeks, Scott allowed Mitchell to continue teaching until June 30. He agreed to not making further comments on Facebook, as he did not want the university or anyone from management to get into trouble for his actions. Here’s how Mitchell felt about being fired: I had been sacked from my job, not because of my teaching ability or for any normal disciplinary reason, but because I had taken videos and made comments on Facebook. I now had to think of my future after June30, look for a new job somewhere and tell my wife that we had to leave our beautiful apartment and the life we enjoyed together in Bahrain.
On the other hand, I felt a huge sense of relief that I had been freed from having to work for the Bahraini government and that I would no longer have any association with them whatsoever.
Despite his promise, Mitchell couldn’t resist monitoring Facebook to keep track of the students that were being expelled. Some comments criticized Scott for the expulsions and for going back on his word that the Polytechnic would remain neutral. Mitchell knew Scott’s hands were tied by the Ministry so he posted the following comment: “I will tell you more about this after June 30th.”
Mitchell’s Facebook “friends” immediately informed the Minister of Education and the next morning, on June 14, he was called to the human resources director’s office and asked to leave immediately. The university had previously booked flights to Thailand for Mitchell and his wife. They were for July 1, but the university was willing to exchange the tickets. Mitchell asked if he could stay through the end of June as planned, but was quickly told he should seriously consider leaving the country as soon as possible. Mitchell and his wife flew out of Bahrain on June 23.
Via
Steve Barker's 'On The Wire' (BBC Radio Lancashire 21/01/12) Download/Listen
SaveOnTheWire Save On The Wire
If you missed last weeks show, you can download here and play at your leisure!: archive.org/download/onthe…
If you missed last weeks show, you can download here and play at your leisure!: archive.org/download/onthe…
NYT_JenPreston Jennifer Preston
Who is a "real" journalist? Why does@nypd decide who gets credentials? @megrobertson suggests nymedia "stop using them" #smwknd #ows
Who is a "real" journalist? Why does
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