Here’s the stupidest thing on piracy you’re going to read today. Or this month. Maybe even this whole holiday season. Rudy Shur, of Square One Publishers, has a problem with piracy, which he thinks is actually a problem with Google.
After being contacted by Google Play with an offer to join the team, Shur took it upon himself to fire off an angry email in response. That would have been fine, but he somehow convinced Publisher’s Weekly to print both the letter and some additional commentary. Presumably, his position at a publishing house outweighed Publisher Weekly’s better judgment, because everything about his email/commentary is not just wrong, but breathtakingly so.
Tag: USA
Clinton Senior Adviser Authored Paper Arguing for Paid Leave Proposal She Now Opposes
Hillary Clinton’s top domestic policy adviser pushed the line that Clinton is “the only candidate” who wants to “raise your incomes — not middle class taxes.” A few years back, she had a different position.
Source: Clinton Senior Adviser Authored Paper Arguing for Paid Leave Proposal She Now Opposes
Just Before Passing Surveillance Expansion, Lawmakers Partied With Pro-CISA Lobbyists
The night before Congress passed legislation to expand surveillance power, legislators attended a party with the chief lobbyists for the bill.
Source: Just Before Passing Surveillance Expansion, Lawmakers Partied With Pro-CISA Lobbyists
Makers of OxyContin Bankroll Efforts to Undermine Prescription Painkiller Reform
Pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and market highly addictive opioid painkillers are funding nonprofit groups fighting against reforms.
Source: Makers of OxyContin Bankroll Efforts to Undermine Prescription Painkiller Reform
Obama Program That Hurt Homeowners and Helped Big Banks Is Ending
HAMP’s failure stemmed from its design. Rather than a cash-transfer program that hands vouchers to distressed borrowers so they can lower their mortgage payments, the government gives the money to mortgage servicing companies, to encourage them to modify the loans. But while the government sets benchmarks to follow, the mortgage companies ultimately decide whether or not to offer aid.
Source: Obama Program That Hurt Homeowners and Helped Big Banks Is Ending
Stupid Patent of the Month: Microsoft’s Design Patent on a Slider | Electronic Frontier Foundation
For the first time ever, this month’s Stupid Patent of the Month is being awarded to a design patent. Microsoft recently sued Corel for, among other things, infringing its patent on a slider, D554,140, claiming that Corel Home Office has infringed Microsoft’s design. The design patent, as detailed by Microsoft in its complaint, is titled “User Interface for a Portion of a Display Screen” and entitles Microsoft to own this:
Source: Stupid Patent of the Month: Microsoft’s Design Patent on a Slider | Electronic Frontier Foundation
Judge Not Impressed With Government’s Warrantless 921-Page ‘Peek’ Into A Suspect’s Cellphone | Techdirt
All the DHS wanted was a warrantless “peek” at the contents of a seized iPhone. The phone, one of three seized from a person suspected of drug trafficking, was examined by the DHS, with the warrant arriving a month later. Now, all of the evidence obtained from the phone is being tossed out.
In the order granting the suppression of evidence obtained from the phone, Judge Sterling Johnson points out that the government revised its story several times during oral testimony.
DHS Special Agent Thomas Wilburt worked with the CBP to detain the suspect, Adamou Djibo, at the JFK Airport. Djibo’s iPhone was taken and examined by Wilburt, who couldn’t seem to accurately recall the details of the examination.
Harvard Law Review Freaks Out, Sends Christmas Eve Threat Level Over Public Domain Citation Guide | Techdirt
NSA/GCHQ Exploits Against Juniper Networking Equipment – Schneier on Security
This doesn’t have much to do with the Juniper back door currently in the news, but the document does provide even more evidence that (despite what the government says) the NSA hoards vulnerabilities in commonly used software for attack purposes instead of improving security for everyone by disclosing it.
Source: NSA/GCHQ Exploits Against Juniper Networking Equipment – Schneier on Security
Museum Sued for Art Depicting Jesus as White | Lowering the Bar
Plaintiff suffered “emotional and psychological harm” from exposure to the offending art, and four days later, he sued, demanding among other things that it be removed from the museum.
Source: Museum Sued for Art Depicting Jesus as White | Lowering the Bar