[03.29.2002]
Following the September 11 disaster, over 1,200 Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim men have been arrested and imprisoned without knowledge of the charges against
them. Eyewitnesses have even reported seeing some snatched up while walking down the street. Up until now, the Department of Justice has refused to release information
about the detainees, making it difficult to determine how many are still being held.
On Tuesday, a New Jersey court determined that the mass secret round ups and illegal detentions are "odious to a democracy" and ruled that the government must release
information about every detainee in the state.
(Read More)
Elcomsoft will be back in court on Monday, April 1, 2002, to present and argue their motion to dismiss criminal charges made against them under the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA). If you remember, Elcomsoft was charged with violating the DMCA because it offered a program (Advanced eBook Processor) that could circumvent the
copy protection found in Adobe eBooks, allowing fair, noninfringing use by eBook owners.
The hearing will be open to the public. A strong showing of support from those who oppose the unconstitutional DMCA would be helpful.
When: 9:00 AM, April 1, 2002
Where: United States Courthouse, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, California, 95113
Courtroom: 4th Floor, Courtroom 6
Do you use Yahoo! for your e-mail? If you do, be warned that Yahoo! has changed your (and everyone elses) "marketing preferences" page. The preference for all users have
been reset to its default of "Yes." This resetting will now allow Yahoo! and its affiliated marketers to send you Spam as well as contact you via direct mailings and even
phone calls. Unless you manually opt out.
To opt out, log into your Yahoo! account. On the main page, click on the Options link. Under Personalization, click on the Account Information
link. About mid ways down on your "Review My Account Information" page, click on the Edit your marketing preferences link. From here, you'll be able to opt
out of any special offers and marketing communications you don't want. Then "Save" your new preferences and you're done. Unless Yahoo! decides to invade your privacy by
resetting your preferences again, that is.
[03.28.2002]
Following Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ernest Fritz Hollings' introduction of the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act
(CBDTPA), Rep. Adam Schiff is planning to introduce a measure within the House similar to that of the CBDTPA. In a
letter which was circulated on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Schiff wrote: "I plan to introduce
legislation that would safeguard digital content by spurring the rapid development of copyright protection technology." By introducing his measure in the House, Schiff
hopes to accelerate the passage of digital rights management legislation which Valenti believes will bring about "the goal of a digital environment that is respectful
of copyrighted creative works."
Like most people on Capitol Hill, Schiff's been paid to represent and serve the
interests of big business, not the people of the 27th District.
(Read More | Stop the CBDTPA)
[03.27.2002]
Want to learn more about the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA), a.k.a. Security Systems Standards and Certification Act? The Reg is running
a very good piece here. And don't forget: write your Senators urging them to vote against this ridiculous bill.
If you think current facial recognition systems are already intrusive and in violation of our privacy rights, just wait until cellphone manufacturers begin implementing
this technology into cell phones. That is precisely what Motorola has planned. Working in conjunction with visionics and
Wirehound, Motorola on March 26 unveiled their i95cl, a facial recognition capable phone which they hope will one day help
law enforcement identify criminals.
It's no doubt that this too will fail. Current facial recognition technology, such as the one once used to monitor the streets of Tampa, Florida have failed
miserably. System logs from Florida's system never even identified a single individual contained in the department's database of photographs. The logs also indicated
many false matches. The U.S. Department of Justice has even concluded that face recognition software is highly ineffective.
Related Stories:
[03.26.2002]
See Big Brother at work in our nation's capital.
(See More)
Despite November's Justice Department settlement with Microsoft, PC makers are still finding that Microsoft can weild its monopolistic powers against them. Gateway
revealed in their testimony yesterday that if they, and presumably other OEMs, did not install Windows on
every PC they shipped, then they would be severely penalized for it and may even have their license revoked.
Microsoft's continued predatory behaviors may have been the reason why Dell opted not to offer PCs with Linux
instead of Microsoft's Windows.
On Friday, March 22, a coalition of media activitst gathered in Washington, D.C. to confront the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and demand that the nations
people be given access to the communications infrastructure which our governments policies have left in the hands of a small group of global conglomerates. This was
in response to last months federal court ruling which overturned "one of the country’s last-remaining
regulatory protections against media monopoly".
(Read More)
[03.25.2002]
Congress is scheduled to go to trial today to defend the constitutionality of their Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) which was signed into law in 2000 by
then-President Bill Clinton.
(Read More | ACLU Press Release |
CIPA Challenge Documents)
As if the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) wasn't bad enough, we may soon have to deal with the Consumer Broadband
and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA) which Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ernest Fritz Hollings introduced to
Congress on Thursday.
(Read More | EFF Action Alert |
Hollings' statement on Introduction of CBDTPA)
[03.18.2002]
On Tuesday, March 19, the City of West Hollywood's Human Rights Speakers Series will be featuring special guest speaker Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the
national American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Romero will lead the discussion on "The Future of Civil Liberties: A Call to
Vigilance" which will focus on the constant need to protect civil liberties and the responsibility to nurture the next generation on the importance of recognizing
and defending constitutional freedoms. Admission and parking is free.
For more info, contact Fran Solomon, Deputy to Mayor John Heilman at (323) 848-6460.
Human Rights Speakers Series - 7:00 PM
Pacific Design Center's Green Building SilverScreen Theatre
8687 Melrose Ave.
West Hollywood
[03.13.2002]
Yet another insightful article detailing why the SSSCA would be a terrible piece of legislation and why
consumers shoud oppose Digital Rights Management (DRM) and copy-protection technologies, despite
the fact that they're doomed to fail in the end. Also, take note of how our government and elected officials have been bought and paid for by Hollywood.
"Hollings, who has received $264,534 in campaign contributions from the TV, music and movie industries since 1997, has attempted to argue that standardized copy
protection is the key... "
(Read More)
[03.12.2002]
A small victory was reached last week when, for the first time since 1975, the Senate agreed to raise Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to 36 miles per
gallon by 2015. Environmentalists though had hoped for a new standard of at least 40-mpg. The Senate resumed its energy talks this week and it is expected that they
will decide soon on whether to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
It's still not too late. Contact your Senators today and urge them to vote against opening up
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and exploration. While you're at it, tell them to support the immediate passage of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Act (S. 411) and the
Morris K. Udall Wilderness Act (H.R. 770).
Related Stories:
The N.Y. Times is running an editorial piece on why legislators should be cautious of the SSSCA and attempts at regulating and controling the PC.
(Read More*)
*NOTE: To view the N.Y. Times article, registration (free) is required. Or just enter "cpunk" as both the Member ID and Password.
[03.10.2002]
Not sure if this is just a rumor, but we've been told that this summers Wotapalava tour might actually happen. No official word
from Wotapalava yet. Wotapalava was conceived by Pet Shop Boys.
The line-up is to include: Pet Shop Boys, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soft Cell, Cyndi Lauper, Dead or Alive, Kitchens of Distinction, Book of Love, Alphaville,
and Le Tigre. Looks too good to be true. Keeping our fingers crossed!
[03.08.2002]
Well well well. The truth has finally been revealed and it looks as though we were right. The N.Y. Times is running an article*
which debunks part of the speech that N.A.R.A.S. president Michael
Greene gave during last weeks 44th Grammy Awards.
(Read More)
*NOTE:
To view the N.Y. Times article, registration (free) is required. Or just enter "cpunk" as both the Member ID and Password.
Related Stories:
Fox news has an interesting article detailing why the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA) is a bad idea. Could it be that mainstream media is
starting to realize how terrible such legislation would be?
(Read More)
[03.07.2002]
On Friday, March 8, ABC News' 20/20 will be taking a look at why The Simpsons is one
of the longest running and most successful sitcoms of all time. Find out the secrets to the shows longevity and success. There will be talks with Matt Groening,
James L. Brooks, writers & actors as well as an exclusive interview with Homer Simpson.
The EFF has released a press release regarding the U.S. Government v. Elcomsoft case. It is worth noting the sudden turnabout of
the position of Adobe Systems Inc. in the case as they assisted the U.S. government with its prosecution of Elcomsoft by providing
it with a declaration from one of Adobe's top engineers.
This contradicts Adobe's prior position when it withdrew its support
for the criminal prosecution of Dmitry Sklyarov, the Elcomsoft employee who was arrested for writing the "Advanced eBook Processor" program. At the time, Colleen
Pouliot, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Adobe, stated that "the prosecution of this individual in this particular case is not conducive to the best
interests of any of the parties involved or the industry." Maybe it's time to start boycotting Adobe again.
(Read More)
Related Stories:
[03.06.2002]
Is the customer always wrong? In the eyes of Senator Fritz Hollings, Disney CEO Michael Eisner, the RIAA and the MPAA, the answer is a resounding yes. Why? Because
they view us, their customers, as thieves.
(Read More)
Elcomsoft was back in court on Monday to argue their case before U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Whyte. If you remember, Elcomsoft was charged with violating the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) with its "Advanced eBook Processor" program. Elcomsoft
argued that its conduct -- creating and selling software that can circumvent Adobe's e-book format -- was not illegal because the program is legal under Russian law;
was offered for sale over the Internet, outside of U.S. jurisdiction; and the company was not specifically targeting Americans. Elcomsoft hoped that a motion for
dismissal would be granted, but after 40 minutes of arguments, Judge Whyte issued no immediate decision.
Having successfully convinced Trader Joe's since November 2001 to use non-GMO ingredients in its store brand products, Greenpeace will now focus its 2002 supermarket
campaign on getting the Safeway and Shaw's / Star Market chains to commit to using non-GMO ingredients in their store brands.
Safeway is the third largest food retailer in the U.S. Despite claiming to care about the environment and its customers, Safeway executives have refused to meet
with Greenpeace on the issue and it continues to use Genetically Engineered (GE) ingredients in its products. Safeway owns Vons, Genuardi's, Dominick's, Carr's,
Randalls Pavilions, Tom Thumb and Pak'n Save Foods.
Shaw's / Star Market is a New England chain owned by Sainsbury's market in the UK. While Sainsbury doesn't use GE ingredients in its products sold in Britain, they
refuse to remove GE ingredients from their U.S. store brand products. Why the double-standard?
(Take Action)
In a videotaped deposition released on Monday, Microsoft Vice President and Windows Chief Jim Allchin finally admitted that Microsoft violated the law but refused to
specify the violations. The list of violations are probably so long that Allchin replied, "I don't think that I can summarize those." The company is currently facing
charges that it infringed on consumer choice and unfairly hurt its competitors. CNN is also running an article
about this.
[03.02.2002]
If you watched the 44th Annual Grammy Awards this past Wednesday, then you heard the speech
National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S) President Michael Greene gave regarding "music piracy on the net" and how it was destroying the industry
(read: profits) "one download at a time." He illustrated this by hiring "three college-age students to spend two days with us, and download as many music files as
possible from easily accessible Web sites." But there was one problem.
(Read More)
Looks like we weren't the only ones who received SPAM from Bill Jones, Republican candidate for governor of California and current Secretary of State. According to a
Wired News article, "Jones' campaign sent out thousands of unsolicited e-mails this week, urging California voters to
vote for Jones" during Tuesday's (March 5) Primary Election. Naturally, Jones' spokesman Darrel Ng defended the act, referring to it not as SPAM, but rather as
an "innovative way to use the Internet." Well, we say Fuck you, Bill Jones!
(Read More)
[03.01.2002]
An update to the on sale dates for Siouxsie and the Banshees tickets:
19 April 02 - Roseland - NYC = on sale March 15 @ 12 PM
21 April 02 - Vic Theatre - Chicago = on sale March 9 @ 10 AM
25 April 02 - Warfield - San Francisco, Ca = on sale ?
27 April 02 - Coachella Festival - Indio, Ca = on sale NOW thru ticketmaster (password is behold)
A note to those planning to attend the Daniel Ash shows tonight and tomorrow: they have been cancelled. The band members were involved in a car
accident while en route to the theatre. Most of the members are fine, but Patina (bassist) was injured. The tour will continue as planned until further notice.
