Archive
LEAKED: UK Copyright Lobby Holds Closed-Door Meetings With Gov’t to Discuss National Web-Censorship Regime
Sunday, 26 June 2011 09:43
‘A group of UK copyright lobbyists held confidential, closed-door meetings with Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries to discuss a plan to allow industry groups to censor the Internet in the UK. The proposal has leaked, and it reveals a plan to establish “expert bodies” that would decide which websites British people were allowed to see, to be approved by a judge using a “streamlined” procedure. The procedure will allow for “swift” blocking in order to shut down streaming of live events.
Public interest groups like the Open Rights Group asked to attend the meeting, but were shut out, presaging a regulatory process that’s likely to be a lopsided, industry-centric affair that doesn’t consider the public. The process is characterised as “voluntary,” but the proposal makes reference to the Digital Economy Act, which allows for mandatory web-blocking (thanks to the action of LibDem Lords who submitted a proposal written by a record industry lobbyist as an amendment to the DEA).’
Denmark Police Propose Ban On Anonymous Internet Use
Sunday, 26 June 2011 08:48
‘Imagine if the police knew exactly what you do online: All the porn sites you scan secretly, the vitriolic comments you leave on blogs, the number of hours you spend playing Farmville.
In Denmark, police have recommended to Parliament that it create laws that make it impossible for citizens to surf anonymously. According to Danish-language blog Computerworld Denmark, the proposal is intended to help investigate terrorism.
In the proposal, locations providing open Internet, like cafes and libraries, would have to confirm a user’s identity, with some form of official ID, before letting them get online. Companies may also have to register and verify users’ identities before providing access, as well as retain records of user logs.’
Read more: Denmark Police Propose Ban On Anonymous Internet Use
A Look Inside The Immunization Dilemma
Sunday, 26 June 2011 08:02
‘Well, times have changed. Now pharmaceutical companies are highly protective of their assets, because vaccines are not just medical breakthroughs, they are also big business. In fact, Salk’s vaccine went on to raise manufacturer Eli Lilly’s profit by 90 percent in 1956, bringing in a total of $13.7 million in revenue for the company, in addition to the millions it made other manufacturers of the time. Today, companies like Merck bring in billions by manufacturing vaccines for everything from chicken pox to the flu.
And, today, children who follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended schedule receive 69 doses of 16 vaccines—46 more doses than they did 30 years ago, and the highest amount given in any country in the world.’
Read more: A Look Inside The Immunization Dilemma
The Revolution Reaches Europe: Tens of Thousands Protest in Greece and Spain
Sunday, 26 June 2011 06:58
‘The revolutionary movement that began in Tunisia at the end of last year has now sparked mass movements in Europe; principally, to date, in Greece and Spain. On the surface, these movements have little in common. In Tunisia and Egypt, the people came out in vast numbers to overthrow the hated dictators who, for decades, had strangled their economies and presided over police states, whereas in Greece and Spain, the protestors are not seeking the overthrow of dictators, and are not rebelling against a police state (although both countries can draw on their relatively recent experience of dictatorship).’
Read more: The Revolution Reaches Europe: Tens of Thousands Protest in Greece and Spain
It Gets Even Crazier: Fight The AT&T/Comcast ‘Three Strikes’ Censorship Deal
Friday, 24 June 2011 17:01
‘Completely over the top, even compared to everything else we’re up against: Entertainment industry sources are leaking that they’ve convinced Internet service providers to start restricting people’s web access. If you’re accused of downloading or streaming three files they’ll consider messing with your Internet connection — and maybe even decide what sites you’re allowed to visit.’
Read more: It Gets Even Crazier: Fight The AT&T/Comcast ‘Three Strikes’ Censorship Deal
Brainwashing the Corporate Way
Saturday, 25 June 2011 07:25
‘One of the most original and provocative books of the past decade is Disciplined Minds by Jeff Schmidt (Rowman & Littlefield). “A critical look at salaried professionals,” says the cover, “and the soul-battering system that shapes their lives.” Its theme is postmodern America but also applies to Britain, where the corporate state has bred a new class of Americanised manager to run the private and public sectors: the banks, the main parties, corporations, important committees, the BBC.
Professionals are said to be meritorious and non-ideological. Yet, in spite of their education, writes Schmidt, they think less independently than non-professionals. They use corporate jargon – “model”, “performance”, “targets”, “strategic oversight”. In Disciplined Minds, Schmidt argues that what makes the modern professional is not technical knowledge but “ideological discipline”.
Those in higher education and the media do “political work” but in a way that is not seen as political. Listen to a senior BBC person sincerely describe the nirvana of neutrality to which he or she has risen. “Taking sides” is anathema; and yet the modern professional knows never to challenge the “built-in ideology of the status quo”. What matters is the “right attitude”.’
Believe nothing 