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BSA Asks Kids to Name Copyright Weasel
theodp writes "According to CNET News, this fall, 4th-graders will not only be treated to comic books and lesson plans from the Business Software Alliance and Weekly Reader, but also invited to name the BSA's mascot, a copyright-crusading ferret who teaches tech-savvy kids about the importance of protecting and respecting copyrighted works such as software, music, games and movies. More details in the BSA press release."
It's not that big of a stretch, they are in the same Family. I believe it was intended to be a joke.
Dating yourself? By admitting that you were, at one time, on fourth grade? ... you realize that probably 95% or more of the US population can "date themselves" by revealing that little tidbit of information, right?
Comment of the year
A ferret is not the same as a weasel any more than I am the same as a chimpazee.
Although, you will have to take my word that I am not in fact a specially trained super chimp named Lullu typing this from my cage.
Ferrets and Weasels are of the same family which is Mustela. As a category this family also includes Weasels, Marters and Polecats.
So they are similiar to weasels but that is not to say that weasel should be used as another term for ferrets.
Also ferrets are domesticated creatures. There are no wild ferret populations compared to weasels who are wild, widespread through britian, and eat small rodents.
The name "ferret" comes from the Latin word "furritus" which means "little fur thief". It refers to the ferrets habit of stealing things, toys, food, socks etc. and dragging them away to hide them in it's lair.
ehm, aren't the laws already in their favor?(copyright extensions & etc which really only help big organizations who own big amounts of _old_ materia that was actually fucking cheap to produce back in the day with actors working on monthly wage and so on..)
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
"Fair use according to whom? The law or the Slashbot collective? People around here have a very peculiar concept of what constitutes \"fair use\"."
Exactly. Neither of these groups have the right people to teach children about copyright. The lobbyists are likely to teach them that the GPL is immoral, and the typical user here would make them memorize the collected works of Richard Stallman in English class.
Personally I believe that items of zero marginal cost must be distributed for free to guarantee economic efficiency (incentives to produce can and should be created in other ways). Society should, however, tell children about all sides of issues, but that's not what we're going to get, is it? So schools and corporations should shut up and go back to teaching children how to think, not what to think.
My Sig: SEGV
Ignore the Slashdot editor's editorializing. It's really a ferret.
Umm... the current administration is geared towards bringing government down to record low levels (military excluded). They're using a 'starve the beast' tactict where, by making taxes sound bad, the public want less taxes. Unfortunately what happens is the taxes get reduced on the rich and what burden is left is shifted towards the poor. As revenue goes down, so must government programs, eventually reducing the size of the government. Paul Krugman talks about it quite well: http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?displayValue= day&todayDate=09/10/2003
Physics makes the world go 'round.
In the common parlance, "ferret" refers to the domestic ferret, mustela furo. The cartoon mascot is clearly a black-footed ferret, mustela nigripes which despite the similar name is only obliquely related, sort of like a dog being related to a coyote.
The telltale signs are the cream-colored body and black-tipped extremities. Domestic ferrets in the most common sable pattern are colored somewhat more like a siamese cat: the legs and tail are solid black, and the hair is darker overall.
What's the difference? The domestic ferret is a fun-loving domestic species native to Europe and a popular family pet. The black-footed ferret is a fierce North American weasel that savagely devours cute, cuddly prairie dogs and takes over their homes. So they got the image right, but the name is wrong.
Here's the url:
p y. wmv
http://www.mattkruse.com/humor/DontCopyThatFlop
"He's more machine now than man, twisted and evil."
An exercise for you, check into which view of 'fair use' closer approximates the views held by the founders of the United States. Bonus hint: they grudgingly accepted to include limited term copyright after contentious debate.
They're mustelids, not rodents. They aren't any more prone to rabies than other mammals - skunks (which are, admittedly, cousins), coyotes, foxes, and bats are the most common carriers of rabies in the U.S. So two out of the four are related to dogs, not ferrets... (I don't honestly know the figures for outside of the U.S.)
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
They totally shut down Afganistan's heroine business, and Bush rewarded them with $43,000,000.
I guess no one can say that there isn't one upside to Islamic fundamentalism.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano