Slashdot Mirror
Canadian Music Industry Wants Royalties on Net Usage
Dr. Zoidburg writes "Apparently Internet music and movie sharing in Canada has gained enough popularity to turn the heads of the music and movie industry. CTV has a report about a Canadian organization named SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada) that will "ask the Supreme Court of Canada next week to force Internet service providers to pay them royalties for the millions of digital music files downloaded each year by Canadians". Says the president of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers, "Consumers could very well see an increase in their Internet costs and they could see a slowdown in the transmission speed of their Internet communications"."
I'm getting a boner thinking about this story. Perhaps I need a gay nigger to spunk me up the ass?
pf
"WRONG ANSWER!"
"SOCAN" is not a representative of the Entertainment Industry, all such organizations must have acronyms ending in "A" or "AA".
"SOCAN" is most likely a Canadian organization, possibly standing for "So Canada, SO CANADA,..."
"Next question: what does SHALSHODT stand for?"
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Liquid.
1. Claim [insert big group of people] owes you money.
2. ???
3. Infinite profit.
* ??? beeing taxation by private companies, that may or may not produce something.
Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
We welcome you to the wonderful word of socialism.
Once again the Taiwan Strait is entering a period of tension and once again the immediate cause is the Taiwanese President, Chen Shui-bian. He has launched a strategy based on brinkmanship over the issue of Taiwan's independence. The result? A sleeping giant is showing signs of restiveness.
This time the trouble is over holding a referendum. Last week, President Chen spoke of the Taiwan question in New York, to Beijing's great annoyance. President Chen has also declared 10 December 2006 to be the date for a controversial new constitution to be completed to come into effect by 20 May 2008. Most vitally, however, the legislature in Taiwan last week agreed an end of November deadline to pass a law to allow referendums on 'issues of major national interest'. Beijing reads this as code for a referendum on independence - something President Chen explicitly rejected on his election in 2000.
All week, Beijing has been reacting angrily. "The separatist forces are going to pay a high cost if they think we will not use force against their conspiracy to promote formal independence," said Wang Zaixi, vice-minister of the Chinese State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office at a seminar on 18 November.
Such overt and aggressive responses to President Chen's actions and statements have occurred before, but when Foreign Report suggested that this may be more hot air from China to Jia Qingguo, professor of International Studies at China's prestigious seat of learning, Beijing University, he firmly asserted otherwise. "The Taiwan authorities efforts to push the limits have reached the red line area. The Chinese government wishes to tell the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and other concerned parties that it cannot tolerate such actions and whatever it does will be a consequence of Chen Shui-bian's provocations."
It's a risky business. A miscalculation by either side could precipitate a military conflict, one that could very easily draw in the USA. Contributing to the risk factor is the observation made to Foreign Report by a government insider that the US administration is "asleep" on this issue, its attention being held by the more immediate (and multiple) demands of the 'war on terrorism' and the efforts to control rogue states' access to weapons of mass destruction.