[10.31.2001]
No plans tonight? Well, legendary producer Hal Willner will be staging a chilling Halloween tribute to famous writer Edgar Allan Poe
tonight at UCLA's Royce Hall. And to make things even more fascinating, artist and musician David J. has been asked to provide musical
soundscapes for three of the readings, "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "The Black Cat." Call for tickets at
310-825-2101 or 213-365-3500. Tickets are also available on-line at www.performingarts.ucla.edu
[10.30.2001]
For those Daniel Ash fans out there, you'll be happy to know that he's just finished recording
his new album. It will be released in the U.S. and Canada on February 5, 2002. Those lucky enough to
be in Japan will be able to pick it up there on November 12, 2001 as it will be released there by
ULF Records. Expect Daniel to tour the U.S. and Canada in the Spring.
[10.25.2001]
Have you tried accessing MSN with a browser other than Microsoft's
own Internet Explorer (IE) lately? Well, users of Mozilla, Opera,
and some versions of Netscape's Navigator are finding themselves
blocked out and are being told to get the latest version of IE. All this on the day Microsoft launches
their new OS (Windows XP) and the re-designed MSN. Since Micro$oft already controls the desktop, they're
now out to control the net.
We are happy to report that the Senate Commerce Committee's hearings on the
Security Systems Standards and Certification Act
(SSSCA or DMCA-2) which had been originally schedule for today have been postponed due to mounting
opposition, particularly from those in the tech community (i.e. IBM, Intel, Microsoft and others).
If adopted the SSSCA would required all future electronic and interactive devices and PCs to include
federally-approved digital rights management technologies. These technologies would shift the balance
of power away from ordinary citizens and into the hands of mega-corporations, thus allowing them to
control and restrict how consumers can use digital content. Senator Fritz Hollings
(D-SC), who authored the bill, has not re-scheduled the hearings, and has also indicated that he would
consider modifying the bill.
Related Stories:
[10.24.2001]
How's this for free speech rights -- Artist paints mural on privately owned building in Westwood
(near UCLA campus) of a New York City firefighter, an American flag, the face of the Statue of Liberty,
and the words "God Bless America" underneath the images. The City of Los Angeles then issues an order
to have the patriotic mural removed because zoning laws allow them to do so.
[Read More]
The Taco Bell Truth Tour has left Los Angeles. Organized by a small group of farmworkers
and the Coalition of Immokolee (CIW) organizers, they are
raising awareness of their struggles -- for a decent wage, benefits, and better working conditions --
and the on-going boycott of Taco Bell.
[Read More]
[10.23.2001]
On October 25, 2001 the EFF and the ACLU
will be hosting a symposium on the threats of surveillance. Titled "Freedom in Jeopardy: Threats to
Civil Liberties in the Wake of September 11th," the discussion will take place from 7-9 PM at 2050
Valley Life Sciences Building (VLSB), on the UC Berkeley campus. Contact mjmurray@uclink.berkeley.edu
for more information.
On 10.06.01, we reported that the Deni Indians of the Amazon were
struggling to protect their homeland
and the rainforest from illegal loggers. We now receive word that Brazil's Minister of Justice has signed
a decree which "permanently sets aside Deni Indian land for their sole occupation and use."
[Read More]
[10.18.2001]
As we reported on 09.24.01 (A U.S. National Identification Card System?),
Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison proposed creating a national ID card for all citizens. Since
our report, Ellison's idea has gained some ground as he and U.S. Attorny General John Ashcroft have
been in talks regarding the matter. The idea is also being supported by Senator Dianne Feinstein,
retired General Norman Schwarzkopf, and Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy. Better yet, why don't
we just use the AVID Pettrac System
or the IdentIchip, but adapt them for humans? It
only takes seconds to implant under the skin and there's no need for anaesthetic. A quick, simple,
and painless way for our government to track our lives. Besides, I'd hate to think of what might happen
if the ID Card was lost or stolen, especially since it would contain my SSN, fingerprints, facial/retinal
scans,... etc.
[Read More | Sample of new National ID Card]
[10.16.2001]
New Order's highly anticipated new album, Get Ready, is out today.
[10.15.2001]
As expected the House, in a vote of 337-79,
passed the new PATRIOT Act during
the early morning hours on October 12, 2001. It's a shame that "most Americans do not recognize that Congress
has just passed a bill that would give the government expanded power to invade our privacy, imprison
people without due process and punish dissent," said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the
ACLU Washington National Office. The new PATRIOT Act will grant
our government with extensive surveillance powers and the added ability to detain U.S. residents and
immigrants with no judicial process or oversight. We are now a lot less free than we were on the night
of September 10, 2001.
[Read More]
Will these new Anti-Terrorist bills
prevent future terrorist attacks or aid in capturing Osama bin Laden?
It's doubtful.
[Read More]
[10.12.2001]
There are several stories (CNN,
Washington Post,
Wired) reporting that the U.S.
Senate has, in a 96-1 vote, approved the USA Act.
This bill will now give our law enforcement unrestricted surveillance powers. Our elected officials are
suppose to protect and uphold our constitutional rights granted under the Bill of Rights, but with the
USA Act those rights have now been thrown out the door. And this is only the beginning. There's still
the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and the House's Patriot Act.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a motion to dismiss the pending
Felten v. RIAA case
because "it's 'not ripe' and it fails to address serious First Amendment problems." The preliminary statement of the
DoJ's motion for dismissal
states: "Plaintiffs in the present case ask this Court to strike down the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
("DMCA"), or to declare that their conduct, academic research into computer technology, is not prohibited
by that statute. Their claim should be dismissed because it is not justifiable. Plaintiffs have not been
prosecuted under the DMCA, nor have they been threatened with such prosecution."
On the contrary, Professor Felten was threatened by the RIAA
"with such prosecution" and such threats directed at his attempt to present his research on digital music
access-control technologies is a serious First Amendment problem.
Related Stories:
The True Food Network has updated its
True Food Shopping List. The updated list
adds nearly 200 new products to the list of food products that contain NO genetically engineered ingredients.
Take a look at the list
and avoid all those nasty genetically engineered products.
[10.11.2001]
The ACLU has an excellent
comparison chart of the latest versions of anti-terrorism legislation
being considered in the House and Senate. They cover and compare current law to the Anti-Terrorism Act,
the House Bill (Patriot Act), and the Senate Bill (USA Act). See why these provisions being considered
are dangerous to our civil liberties.
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty
nor safety -- Benjamin Franklin
Is Bert evil? We're confused too! But it seems as though Islamic protesters in Bangladesh have
been carrying around Anti-American posters with Bert and Osama bin Laden together. The protesters apparently
created the signs using a collage of photos they apparently took off the Internet. But why Bert?
Since September 11, U.S. media have provided the world with nearly constant coverage of
the attacks and the international response. But according to media analysts such as
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and Mediachannel,
corporate media are simply
beating the drums of war. They cite
pundits' calls for
unquestioning allegiance
at home and total destruction abroad,
as well as radio calls for
harsh bombings. Network news shows
and airwave evangelists
are fervently promoting Bush's policies. Dan Rather
of CBS has publicly stated his commitment,
saying, "George Bush is the President. He makes the decisions, and, you know, I'm just one American,
wherever he wants me to line up, just tell me where."
While corporate media distort
or downplay public questioning of U.S. actions, and the Army begins its
"Tactical-Level Public Affairs and Information Operations"
to manipulate
the media to its advantage, analysts like Robert McChesney
are working to pierce the war propaganda
to find a deeper understanding of the issues.
[10.10.2001]
It's been learned that the music industry and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
will be stepping up their war against MP3 file sharing and CD ripping. And when consumers can no longer get free
music, they will have little choice but "to buy the music in the formats we choose to put out."
[Read More]
Bjork fans will be interested in knowing that she'll be doing a special performance on
the Jay Leno show on October 19. Set your VCRs if you can't make the live taping.
As many are already aware, The Cure will be releasing a Greatest Hits album on November 13.
The release will be followed by a special DVD and VHS companion on November 27 that will feature The Cure's
groundbreaking videos plus intimate film footage of the band performing six unplugged acoustic songs
found on the bonus CD that's included in their Limited Edition premium package. The bonus CD will
contain unplugged acoustic recordings of the complete Greatest Hits tracklist and the regular single
disc package. You can pre-order either the Greatest Hits - with Bonus Disc
package or the Greatest Hits
regular single disc package now.
Believe it or not, but Jedi Knights are now officially recognized as a religion in the UKs
2001 Census. Jedi Knight, known by the code 896, is found near the bottom of an official list of religions
that's put out by the Statistics Office. It is followed by Heathen (code 897), Atheist (code 898),
and finally None (code 899). The full list of religions can be found
here.
[10.08.2001]
On Wednesday, October 3, the House Judiciary Committee approved the newly proposed
Patriot Act, a bill which would
give "wide-ranging surveillance powers to the police, including extensive scrutiny of electronic communications."
The bill, scheduled for a full vote this week, would essentially grant the government a blank search
warrant to spy and snoop on anyone's communications. Urge your Senators to vote against this bill as
it will do little to thwart terrorism.
The EFF will be hosting a BayFF
Panel Discussion on the new Anti-Terrorism Legislation and its effects on civil liberties. The discussion
will take place on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001 at 6:00 PM at the San Francisco Public Library. The event is
free and open to the general public.
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-557-4400
The New York Times is running an excellent article titled "A Cautionary Tale for a New Age of
Surveillance" which describes a chilling future of how things in America may soon become, and the
way things already are in Britain.
[Read More]
On Sunday, October 7, 2001 the U.S. and Britain initiated their bombing of the Afghani cities
of Kabul and Kandahar. According to Bush, "The United States of America is a friend to the Afghani people."
(Is that what we now call someone who bombs the f@ck out of another country?) And to help ease their suffering
(not to mention Bush's conscience), the U.S. will air-drop supplies and food for the people.
We are not the only ones who are totally against these acts of war. A poll by Gallup International
indicates that up to 80% of the people in many countries, such as Europe and South America, oppose
the attacks and don't want their countries to aid the U.S. in its attacks. Nations in the U.N. also
have expressed reluctance to support a unilateral U.S. attack and hundreds of Anti-War and Peace demonstrations
have occurred globally since the September 11 attacks. Who's the terrorist now?
[10.06.2001]
Last week, news.com ran a very interesting story about how the recording industry are once again
looking for new ways to manufacture and distribute their CDs so as to prevent their consumers from making
copies, even for personal backup. Will they ever succeed? [Read More]
Here's something a bit amusing. It appears that Australian actor Yahoo Serious
has asked the Federal Court to decide who the real Yahoo is. Serious is appealing the Australian Trade
Marks Office's rejection of his opposition to "an application by Yahoo!
to register Yahoo as a trademark." Is he really serious?!
[Read More]
The Deni Indians of the Amazon are struggling to protect their homeland and the rainforest from
illegal loggers. But the Brazilian government wants them to stop. Why?
[Read More]
[10.02.2001]
From October 4 - 8, San Francisco will play host to Queeruption
2001. What is Queeruption? It's a 5-day gathering of queers from around the world, coming together in San
Francisco and the East Bay to share ideas and strategies about activism, social change, survival -- and
how to have a good time in the process. Queers from a variety of places will arrive to join local
participants in Queeruption, with activities including roundtable forums, performances, open mikes,
music, screenings, and actions in the San Francisco Bay Area. Check the Queeruption website for a list
of events -- they're all ages and FREE.
The EFF has issued an Action Alert to rally support to
defeat the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act
(SSSCA) which would restrict how consumers can use digital content. If you don't want Hollywood to
take away your rights as a consumer, then take action.
Here's the latest on the Sklyarov case: At the September 24 hearing, Joe Burton became defense
attorney for Elcomsoft, John Keker replaced Joe Burton as defense attorney for Dmitry Sklyarov, and the
next hearing was set for November 26 at which time the schedule for motions for the trial will be set.
On September 11, 2001 another tragedy took place. Three weeks have since passed and no
mention of it from the media.
[Read More]
On November 6, Greenpeace's Clean Energy Now campaign will be kicking off Solar Yes! in San Francisco.
This is where San Franciscans will have the rare opportunity to vote on two propositions, B and H,
which will double the current national output of solar energy. These propositions are vital in the
fight to prevent another so-called energy crisis in California and most importantly to stop global
warming.
