News Stories

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

No, PRISM is designed to spy on foreigners. Americans only get caught in the net when they are communicating with foreigners. That's why I said the other day that if I lived outside the US, I would make sure I'm not storing my communications on servers belonging to US entities.

I believe there are some foreigners on this forum. Quick, hide the cattle!

[ArchmageXin]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

I actually believe that action to be within the Fourth Amendment. Just because people take overexpanding view of what that amendment is supposed to be doesn't mean what the government is doing is evil.

Having a concern that there might be abuse (as in any human system) is one thing, immediatel labeling any supposed violation of an non-existent right is another.

Are the "people" over-expanding on what the 4th cover, or is the government ever shrinking what it is suppose to cover? I don't see common people making up new rights here.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I believe there are some foreigners on this forum. Quick, hide the cattle!

We are more than some, most likely the majority. BTW, in which country is this forum's server ?

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by ArchmageXin

Are the "people" over-expanding on what the 4th cover, or is the government ever shrinking what it is suppose to cover? I don't see common people making up new rights here.

The former.

[AnimeFan188]

Movie Theater Ticket Prices Could Reach $150, Says George Lucas:

""Going to the movies is going to cost you $50, maybe $100, maybe $150," says
George Lucas, the creator of " Star Wars" and founder of Lucasfilm, which is now
owned by the Walt Disney Co., ABC's parent company.

Lucas and director Steven Spielberg talked about the future of entertainment
while on a panel at the University of Southern California Thursday.

Spielberg said studios were increasingly putting money into "mega-budget"
movies, causing a tectonic shift in the entertainment industry.

"There's eventually going to be an implosion, or a big meltdown," Spielberg said.
"There's going to be an implosion where three or four, or maybe even a
half-dozen mega-budget movies, are going to go crashing into the ground, and
that's going to change the paradigm.""

See:

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs...155727572.html

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

So it seems the Video Game industry and the Film industry are racing to see who can bankrupt themselves first?

As we learned, there is only so much return you can get from a market. So just throwing more money in doesn't guarantee that you would get more money back. If watching films become a luxury, most people just won't go. If they want to price themselves out of the market, that's their problem.

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

Is he talking per person or as a family, because as it is now if I go to the movies with one other person its already costing around $50 ($16 for ticket and $9 for a small drink and popcorn, per person). Christ take a full family and I wouldn't be surprised if you're throwing $100 at the whole affair.

[GDB]

He's talking about per ticket. Not per viewing experience, but just the ticket itself. For proof, he compares "the next Iron Man" vs "Lincoln" and notes that the latter would only cost you $7 to see (I assume based on production costs).

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by GDB

He's talking about per ticket. Not per viewing experience, but just the ticket itself. For proof, he compares "the next Iron Man" vs "Lincoln" and notes that the latter would only cost you $7 to see (I assume based on production costs).

Frankly, If a ticket costs more than a DVD, I won't go at all. I am already abandoning any 3D film that isn't natively filmed in 3D, and I will not spend more money that what I think the item is worth.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Film-maker files lawsuit over birthday song's copyright

New York (June 13, Thu): The song Happy Birthday to You is widely credited for being the most performed song in the world. But one of its latest venues may be the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where the only parties may be the litigants to a new legal battle.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed here today by a film-maker who is seeking to have the court declare the popular ditty to be in the public domain, and to block a music company from claiming it owns the copyright to the song and charging licensing fees for its use.

The filmmaker, Ms Jennifer Nelson, was producing a documentary movie, tentatively titled Happy Birthday, about the song. In one proposed scene, the song was to be performed.

But to use it in the film, she was told she would have to pay US$1,500 and enter into a licensing agreement with Warner/Chappell, the publishing arm of the Warner Music Group. Ms Nelson’s company, Good Morning to You Productions, paid the fee and entered into the agreement, the suit says.

The lawsuit notes that in the late 1800s, two sisters, Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill, wrote a song with the same melody called Good Morning to All. The suit tracks that song’s evolution into the familiar birthday song, and its ownership over more than a century.

But although Warner/Chappell claims ownership of Happy Birthday to You, the song was “just a public adaptation” of the original song, one of Ms Nelson’s lawyers, Mr Mark Rifkin, said in a phone interview.

"It's a song created by the public, it belongs to the public, and it needs to go back to the public," Mr Rifkin said.

Ms Nelson, asked what she envisioned for her documentary, responded in an e-mail message that her film would be about the "song's history and its future". The suit seeks to be given class-action status on behalf of all others who have paid licensing fees for it since 2009.

NEW YORK TIMES

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Film-maker files lawsuit over birthday song's copyright

Can they still clam copyright on something after 200 years??

I thought copyright only apply up to 167 years (or something like that)? (which still absurd)

[HasuMasu]

I thought it was life of the author+90 years.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

Can they still clam copyright on something after 200 years??

I thought copyright only apply up to 167 years (or something like that)? (which still absurd)

Disney's fault. They are keeping Mickey mouse out of public domain, and every few decades they refresh it. Anything that was made after Mickey is indirectly benefited, causing the birthday song to effectively gain perpetual copyright for free.

[ganbaru]

Moderate Rohani looks on way to outright Iran election victory
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95C1E120130615

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

We are more than some, most likely the majority. BTW, in which country is this forum's server ?

They were in the Netherlands, I believe, but GHDpro's recent posting about moving the server suggests they may now be in Los Angeles. I don't know if the main site is still in the Netherlands, but there have been active mirrors in New England and California for a long time.

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

Can they still clam copyright on something after 200 years??

I thought copyright only apply up to 167 years (or something like that)? (which still absurd)

The lyrics themselves were not copyrighted until 1935. From Wikipedia:

The combination of melody and lyrics in "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in print in 1912, and probably existed even earlier. None of these early appearances included credits or copyright notices. The Summy Company registered for copyright in 1935, crediting authors Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R.R. Forman. In 1988, Warner/Chappell purchased the company owning the copyright for $25 million, with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at $5 million. Based on the 1935 copyright registration, Warner claims that the United States copyright will not expire until 2030, and that unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal unless royalties are paid to it.

The copyright term for works owned by a corporation is the smaller of 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, which results in the 2030 date. The term on individually copyrighted works expires after the life of the author plus 75 years. Heirs to successful authors constitute a major lobby group for extending copyright terms. Heirs also engage in occasional mischief like the famous suit over the Gone with the Wind parody The Wind Done Gone.

Some restaurants here will serve a small cake on birthdays and serenade the assembled guests. They never sing "Happy Birthday," though, since that would constitute a public performance and incur a royalty. I believe I once read that some parents were assessed a royalty when they held their child's birthday party in a public park and sang the song, though that may be apocryphal.

[Soliloquy]

http://news.yahoo.com/nazi-unit-lead...201703412.html

Former Nazi commander has been found living in Minneapolis. It is very interesting to see the outcome of this. A few neighbours who were jewish and have known him for a long time want him to stand trial.

[Ridwan]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Moderate Rohani looks on way to outright Iran election victory
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95C1E120130615

This sounds nice, and will really save a lot of people.

[TooPurePureBoy]

Interesting archaeological discovery in Cambodia about an untouched mountain city. They found it using helicopters and lasers. Supposedly untouched by looters.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/revealed...614-2o9ds.html

[demonix]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

They were in the Netherlands, I believe, but GHDpro's recent posting about moving the server suggests they may now be in Los Angeles. I don't know if the main site is still in the Netherlands, but there have been active mirrors in New England and California for a long time.

The IP addresses for the forum resolves to the US where the IP address for the main site resolves to the Netherlands (which I believe it's always been like).

[AnimeFan188]

Prism Just the Tip of NSA Iceberg:

"What's the secret to the National Security Agency's Prism program? There's a bigger
information seizure going on right now. Government agents say that while Prism cuts
through large chunks of data for specific information, the government has another
program that's sure to surprise you. This operation grabs data as it enters fiber optic
cables, copies the traffic entering and exiting the United States, and ships it to the
NSA for analysis. If you thought Prism was an invasion of your privacy, then you ain't
seen nothing yet."

See:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/...a-iceberg.html

================================================== ====


NSA: We listen to your phone calls without warrants, too:

"In a classified briefing, the U.S. National Security Agency confirms that it can and
does listen to phone calls of both U.S. residents and foreign nationals — without
needing a court order."

See:

http://www.zdnet.com/nsa-we-listen-t...oo-7000016864/


================================================== ====


Japan proposes NSA-style agency and new snooping laws:

"In a masterpiece of timing, the Japanese government is considering a new
NSA-style agency to monitor internet communications in the country.

Top government security advisory panel the National Information Security Centre
(NISC), which is chaired by prime minister Shinzo Abe, is currently seeking public
consultation on its Cyber Security 2013 draft report (Japanese), published on
Monday.

The report, which sees the government refer for the first time to “cyber security”
rather than “information security” to encompass sabotage attacks on critical
infrastructure and other threats, proposes some radical steps to help keep the
country safe from escalating risk."

See:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06...ng_bad_timing/