The Death of Intellectual Property

One of the things that's clear given the current progress of new technologies is that the 19th century notions of copyright, patent and intellectual property are fast becoming obsolete... de facto.

Recent legal approaches have tended to just defend the system as it was (de jure) and ignore the fact that there has been a significant paradigm shift.

Is intellectual property still a viable concept here in the 21st century? Do legal efforts like SOPA ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act ) actually help, or harm the whole process?

Here is just one current take on the current state of affairs:

..Irrespective of moral and economic dimensions, the deathblow to copyright will likely come from the Internet itself. Due to the nature of the Internet, and anonymizing technologies in particular, the practicality of attempting to enforce a pre-internet copyright regime through the Internet is a road that we as a society should not go down.

Canada has experience with laws that engender widespread violation: Consider prohibition in the 1920s. A law violated so brazenly is more than meaningless — it undermines the effectiveness of the legal system generally.

Over time, the Internet will increasingly expose constraints on text, pictures, and videos for what they are — arbitrary and outmoded. In the meantime, it makes sense for Canada not to pass copyright laws that are more restrictive and invasive... http://questioncopyright.org/the_case_for_the_death_of_copyright

I would also add to what the author says above and say that the lack of privacy on the net also adds to the practical death of intellectual property. Think about it for a moment... Who actually owns someone's Tweet? The author? The article (or tweet) they were responding too? Twitter itself?

So, the question is in this day and age... whither copyright? Patents?

Yemen 'could be another Somalia'

Yemen will need almost $500 million in aid to avert a humanitarian crisis on the scale of the starvation and drought that ravaged the Horn of Africa this year, aid agencies warned yesterday.

Representatives from United Nations agencies said about seven million people in Yemen are in need of food, of whom three million are already in dire need, and 60 per cent of the country's 12 million children were malnourished.

"While there have been significant political developments in Yemen, humanitarian needs are expected to deteriorate still further over the next 12 months," said Jens Toyberg-Frandzen, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen. He said the country's nutrition figures were comparable to those of Somalia... http://www.thenational.ae/featured-content/home/middle-headlines/yemen-could-be-another-somalia

Here is the list of Senators who voted against the Defense Authorization

and who are the only ones who apparently still believe in the Bill of Rights. It's a short, bi-partisan list:

Sen. Thomas Coburn (R, OK)
Sen. Thomas Harkin (D, IA)
Sen. Mike Lee (R, UT)
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D, OR)
Sen. Rand Paul (R, KY)
Sen. Bernard Sanders (I, VT)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D, OR)


http://squashed.tumblr.com/post/13832537748/senators-who-voted-against-the-national-defense

Wounded Veterans of Iraq: the True Legacy of War

Thank God for the advancement of medicine. One of the clear results that can be seen from the Iraq war is that the trauma treatment received by the wounded far exceeds the capabilities of the past. While America mourns the 4,400+ dead soldiers from the Iraq war, it important to think about the 30,000 soldiers who were wounded during the conflict. The sad reality, however, hits home when you realize a large percentage of that 30,000 would have been the deceased of past wars. While the critical care the military gives has saved lives, many veterans are coming home in numbers far sicker and more debilitated than from previous wars.

Here is just one veteran's story:

Davis suffered wounds to his stomach, chest, shoulders and hips. Someone rolled him up in a blanket to staunch the bleeding.
Davis was taken to an air base where medics worked on him, then to a hospital in Germany where he had three surgeries. He was then flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, where he underwent more surgery and began a long battle for recovery, which he continues to fight today, five years later, in Gautier.
Davis, now 29, is classified as 90 percent disabled. He’s applied for jobs, but had no luck. He said he gets the strong feeling employers don’t want to hire him because of his disabilities. He’s trying to get his classification upped to 100 percent.
Davis still has physical problems -- pain, intestinal problems, a shoulder that doesn’t allow him to do much lifting.
But he said his biggest problem is the nightmares, lack of sleep and short-term memory loss for which doctors can’t seem to find the right medication. He’s dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a common malady among returning soldiers...


Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2011/12/03/3611588/legacy-of-war-wounded-warriors.html#ixzz1ga9L45x7

And that's just the physical toll. The psychological toll among the million+ soldiers who served in Iraq has been reported to be nearly 30% by some estimates. http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm

While America may be leaving Iraq. In this holiday season, we need to remember that the war is a gift that keeps on giving. The war isn't over. Just ask the veterans who are suffering the most.

Life possible on 'large parts' of Mars: study

Australian scientists who modelled conditions on Mars to examine how much of the red planet was habitable said on Monday that "large regions" could sustain terrestrial life.

Charley Lineweaver's team, from the Australian National University, compared models of temperature and pressure conditions on Earth with those on Mars to estimate how much of the distant planet was liveable for Earth-like organisms.

While just one per cent of Earth's volume - from core to upper atmosphere - was occupied by life, Linewaver said their world-first modelling showed three per cent of Mars was habitable, though most of it was underground.

"What we tried to do, simply, was take almost all of the information we could and put it together and say 'is the big picture consistent with there being life on Mars?'," the astrobiologist told AFP. "And the simple answer is yes... There are large regions of Mars that are compatible with terrestrial life." ... http://gulfnews.com/news/world/australia/life-possible-on-large-parts-of-mars-study-1.949189

Stating the Obvious: If Newt is the (R) Nominee, Obama Will Win in a Landslide

If that is the match-up, it will most likely boil down to a likability and trust referendum on Obama's first 4 years. Newt, of course is the perfect foil for that and reminds people exactly what the problem is (Congress).

If you disagree, please explain...

Big danger from a declining rupee for India

ndia may face its worst financial crisis in decades if it fails to stem a slide in the rupee, leaving the central bank with a difficult choice over how to make the best use of its limited reserves to maintain the confidence of foreign investors.

Unlike most of its Asian peers, India routinely runs large current account and fiscal deficits. That means it must attract sufficient foreign money, namely dollars, to close the gap, and a weaker home currency makes that costlier. What makes the current situation so worrisome is that India is grappling with big internal and external economic threats simultaneously: Growth is slowing. Inflation remains high. Political paralysis has stymied domestic overhauls... http://www.deccanherald.com/content/210954/big-danger-declining-rupee-india.html

The Rupee is getting close to implosion. While everyone was worried China would be the 500 lb. domino to fall, it could well be the health of the Indian economy that holds the world out of a greater depression.

I think that this is one instance where you can hate both the player and the game.

Gingrich and company share their Middle East delusions- by James Zogby

On Wednesday, six Republican candidates for president appeared before the Republican Jewish Coalition​ to campaign for Christian votes. There are Jewish Republicans, to be sure, but not enough to make a difference in this primary contest. No, the real prize that drew the candidates to the event were the 40 per cent of GOP primary voters who identify themselves as "born-again" Christians. Many of them fervently believe that Israel can do no wrong and that it is their religious duty to support any and all Israeli policies as a prerequisite to hasten the "Day of Judgment".

The speeches were mostly filled with hysterical criticism of President Barack Obama's "appeasement" of Israel's enemies and hyperbolic praise for Israel (with the exception of John Huntsman, who, after a few pandering platitudes, spoke mostly about the economy and was greeted with stony silence)... All of this went beyond the normal platitudes offered up in an election year. It was dangerous, shameful and crass pandering, making it clear how far today's Republicans have moved from the reality-based foreign policy of the Bush-Baker era. And while it's hard to imagine the alternate universe inhabited by these candidates for president, it's frightening to think of where they would take US-Middle East policy should any of them be elected. http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/gingrich-and-company-share-their-middle-east-delusions?pageCount=2

A gap between US ideals and regional policy (Middle East)

As Arabs across the Middle East and North Africa became the champions of their own destiny this year, the paradox of relations with the West has been as stark as ever. The United States and other western democracies have long claimed to be advocates of political freedoms and human rights in the region, yet sometimes with obvious double standards.

Almost a year later, and Washington is still playing catch up. The Obama administration has talked tough on Bashar Al Assad's regime in Syria, and backed the GCC plan to push Ali Abdullah Saleh from power, yet there are obvious tensions. The United States continues to sacrifice its own standing in the region in favour of its reflexive bias towards Israel. And for all of the Obama administration's statements about human rights, no one doubts that many in Washington miss the warm, predictable relationships with dictators... itizens of this region are willing to bridge the divide. If Washington, London and Paris are true to the ideals they espouse, now is the time to show it... http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/a-gap-between-us-ideals-and-regional-policy