I don't think jafac was referring to you when he talked about "those fuckers." While I would not burn a flag as a show of patriotism - at least not yet, not while Bush, Ashcroft, et al. at least pretend to respect the Constitution - I definitely feel that he can if he wants to.
Those he opposes (I suspect - I don't know him, though he is my Friend) are those who are systematically destroying our liberty, and I oppose them too. I choose to fly my flag, as I feel it stands for something beyond Ashcroft, but that's my choice.
Oh, and as I am in California, I look forward to the NEW Pledge of Allegiance. Time to find a meeting at City Hall to say it at!
1. I'll subscribe (and many others will) TODAY to Groove Salad; and
2. SomaFM and others MUST write contracts for their indie and unsigned artists to distribute their music at reasonable or zero royalties. I understand that he has a day job - maybe he can find a pro bono lawyer to develop a standard contract for the various labels who, like him, would like nothing better than to fuck the RIAA with a rusty spike.
Of course the RIAA would lobby for a requirement that your SSN and mother's maiden name be automatically printed on the disc. To fight terrorism, you know.
Palladium is being offered to the studios and record labels as a way to distribute music and film with "digital rights management" (DRM).... a more interesting possibility is that Palladium could help introduce DRM to business and just plain people.... Palladium might allow you to send out e-mail so that no one (or only certain people) can copy it or forward it to others. Or you could create Word documents that could be read only in the next week. In all cases, it would be the user, not Microsoft, who sets these policies.
This is so laughably stupid it's amazing. Do they not know about screen capture? Or - if that's disabled - digital cameras? I can just imagine the whistleblower at a future Merrill Lynch taking a picture of a future Henruy Blodget's "it's a piece of shit" email and sending it to the press - while the IT manager is shocked and dismayed that Microsoft's "secure email" failed so spectacularly.
If these G8 protestors were even one iota peaceful I would have some sympathy for them. As it is, I strongly support the decision to have the meeting in Kananaskis where there aren't very many Starbucks whose windows can be smashed, and where a safe perimeter can be maintained. The "black bloc" are IDIOTS who deserve whatever they get - perhaps they will burn themselves out and then normal, respectful protests can resume.
Question for you: have you considered working with other webcasters to establish a standard contract with non-onerous terms? Understanding that the compulsory license is the maximum amount, why not write reasonable terms into a contract that you then sign with the labels you broadcast? Sure it's a pain, but anything is cheaper than this.
From the Boucher comment in the update link, something really important:
The 'willing-buyer/willing-seller' standard requires that the CARP establish royalty rates for Internet radio based on
market transactions between the record labels and the Internet broadcasters. There has only been one such transaction in the marketplace since the law was passed, and that contract was terminated prematurely by the webcaster. Therefore, the CARP did not have enough information on viable contracts from which to make a rate determination.
Up to now there has only been one such transaction (the infamous Yahoo thing). But it doesn't have to be that way! Indie labels and indie broadcasters can agree to whatever terms they like, right? So now is the time to do it, and then play a fuckload of music based on those terms, and then MAKE THAT THE STANDARD when this is inevitably taken to court and reviewed again and again in the next few years.
I suggest the following terms at no charge to you if you're a label or a webcaster: 10% of gross revenues. C'est tout! Put this in a real enforceable contract between (say) Pork records and (say) SomaFM, and then take that to court when the RIAA lies and claims that there has only been one contract between a cartel-member label and a cartel-member broadcaster.
IMHO indie labels / webcasters MUST do this to prevent the compulsory terms from becoming a bit more compulsory. DO IT NOW!
If these are NON RIAA ARTISTS, or even if they are and their labels aren't fuckers, they are completely within their rights to negotiate a less onerous broadcast agreement with SomaFM or anyone else. If SomaFM doesn't start negotiating such a thing right now, they are blooming idiots. Similarly, if the labels (or independent artists) don't offer reasonable terms to the broadcasters who are promoting their tunes, they too are blooming idiots.
The compulsory license is the maximum that will need to be paid. The real amount can be anything from zero up to it - if the broadcasters and labels properly negotiate it.
So let's get that alternative contract out there. SOMAFM, if you're reading, WRITE ONE and make it available to the labels you broadcast! This could become the default.
When you buy Microsoft the tech support is crap. Crappity-ass crap. Now it's probably not if you buy the expensive $200+/year premium support or many-$10K/yr helpdesk-to-helpdesk support for corporate buyers, but that's not in the typical individual's budget.
So I say this is a total red herring, and one that will bite the commercial vendors in the ass real soon now. As soon as OpenOffice hits Mac I'll definitely try it (and I'm using Mozilla now).
Free is a helluva lot more interesting than cheap. Same reason nobody gives a fuck about Opera but Mozilla 1.0 (which actually works, shocker!) is getting tons of press.
But a Justice Department source said Wednesday that data retention is mentioned in the strategy only as an industry concern -- ISPs and telecom companies oppose the costly idea -- and does not reflect any plan by the department or the White House to push for a U.S. law.
They just have no fucking respect for our rights at all in the DOJ, do they? None whatsoever. I mean, come on - industry concerns?! Sure, industry would have concerns, but have any of these fucknuts heard of liberty and/or privacy?
Send Lady Liberty back to France, it's over. Sell the Declaration of Independence on Ebay, clearly it has no meaning for our appointed officials.
Slashdot Mirror
Dammit. The US team kicked ass. Certainly a goalkeeper poll would have been good.
Scared me for a minute. From the headline, it sounded like the incredibly annoying No Logo had won! Thank the Lord that's not the case.
PCs sold with DRM: Zero
I'm just saying.
Those he opposes (I suspect - I don't know him, though he is my Friend) are those who are systematically destroying our liberty, and I oppose them too. I choose to fly my flag, as I feel it stands for something beyond Ashcroft, but that's my choice.
Oh, and as I am in California, I look forward to the NEW Pledge of Allegiance. Time to find a meeting at City Hall to say it at!
2. SomaFM and others MUST write contracts for their indie and unsigned artists to distribute their music at reasonable or zero royalties. I understand that he has a day job - maybe he can find a pro bono lawyer to develop a standard contract for the various labels who, like him, would like nothing better than to fuck the RIAA with a rusty spike.
They pay Clear Channel, yet shut down SomaFM for not paying more than they already do.
Yes, I know, this is anathema in the linux world, but some of us have other things to do besides compile a fucking kernel.
You're not the audience. IT managers are, and they eat that shit up. Haven't you read InfoWorld?
Sounds like wishful thinking to me. "Okay, everyone certifies Red Hat, but they'll also certify us! Really they will!" We'll see.
Of course the RIAA would lobby for a requirement that your SSN and mother's maiden name be automatically printed on the disc. To fight terrorism, you know.
This is so laughably stupid it's amazing. Do they not know about screen capture? Or - if that's disabled - digital cameras? I can just imagine the whistleblower at a future Merrill Lynch taking a picture of a future Henruy Blodget's "it's a piece of shit" email and sending it to the press - while the IT manager is shocked and dismayed that Microsoft's "secure email" failed so spectacularly.
If these G8 protestors were even one iota peaceful I would have some sympathy for them. As it is, I strongly support the decision to have the meeting in Kananaskis where there aren't very many Starbucks whose windows can be smashed, and where a safe perimeter can be maintained. The "black bloc" are IDIOTS who deserve whatever they get - perhaps they will burn themselves out and then normal, respectful protests can resume.
sounds good to me (a listener) .. make this a standard contract a la the GPL and go to town!
Question for you: have you considered working with other webcasters to establish a standard contract with non-onerous terms? Understanding that the compulsory license is the maximum amount, why not write reasonable terms into a contract that you then sign with the labels you broadcast? Sure it's a pain, but anything is cheaper than this.
Up to now there has only been one such transaction (the infamous Yahoo thing). But it doesn't have to be that way! Indie labels and indie broadcasters can agree to whatever terms they like, right? So now is the time to do it, and then play a fuckload of music based on those terms, and then MAKE THAT THE STANDARD when this is inevitably taken to court and reviewed again and again in the next few years.
I suggest the following terms at no charge to you if you're a label or a webcaster: 10% of gross revenues. C'est tout! Put this in a real enforceable contract between (say) Pork records and (say) SomaFM, and then take that to court when the RIAA lies and claims that there has only been one contract between a cartel-member label and a cartel-member broadcaster.
IMHO indie labels / webcasters MUST do this to prevent the compulsory terms from becoming a bit more compulsory. DO IT NOW!
The compulsory license is the maximum that will need to be paid. The real amount can be anything from zero up to it - if the broadcasters and labels properly negotiate it.
I'm listening to it now and just sent them some bux. SomaFM is big enough that they might just be able to win this one.
It can be appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. If the EFF doesn't appeal I will ask for my donation back.
So let's get that alternative contract out there. SOMAFM, if you're reading, WRITE ONE and make it available to the labels you broadcast! This could become the default.
Bye-bye Groove Salad, it's been nice knowing you!
Gawd, did this guy go to sleep in 1992 and just wake up long enough to write a column?
So I say this is a total red herring, and one that will bite the commercial vendors in the ass real soon now. As soon as OpenOffice hits Mac I'll definitely try it (and I'm using Mozilla now).
Free is a helluva lot more interesting than cheap. Same reason nobody gives a fuck about Opera but Mozilla 1.0 (which actually works, shocker!) is getting tons of press.
But a Justice Department source said Wednesday that data retention is mentioned in the strategy only as an industry concern -- ISPs and telecom companies oppose the costly idea -- and does not reflect any plan by the department or the White House to push for a U.S. law.
They just have no fucking respect for our rights at all in the DOJ, do they? None whatsoever. I mean, come on - industry concerns?! Sure, industry would have concerns, but have any of these fucknuts heard of liberty and/or privacy?
Send Lady Liberty back to France, it's over. Sell the Declaration of Independence on Ebay, clearly it has no meaning for our appointed officials.
Buy a teardown.