As has been reported, it looks like ICE, which is the principal investigative arm of DHS, has begun seizing domains under the pretext of IP infringement. But it’s actually not ICE who is executing the mechanics of the seizures. It’s a private company, immixGroup IT Solutions. Here is what is going down.
PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
INTERNETS, 18th of January 2012.
Over a century ago Thomas Edison got the patent for a device which would “do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear”.
He called it the Kinetoscope. He was not only among the first to record video, he was also the first person to own the copyright to a motion picture. Read the rest of this entry »
Every time changes to the copyrightmonopoly are considered, the profits of major entertainment industry companies are at the center of the discussion. Even the people who fiercely defend the right to share information freely are going to extreme lengths to argue that this will not hurt the revenues of the copyright industry. But why are these profits even relevant? Why should we care about the profits of these companies? Read the rest of this entry »
An inquiry report released Tuesday concludes (name withheld) who died in November 2008 of “excited delirium” (totally bogus term coined by Taser International, manufacturer and seller of stun-guns) was brought on by cocaine in his body. Read the rest of this entry »
Amazing Rhythm Aces were formed in Memphis in 1974 by bassist Jeff Davis and drummer Butch McDade, who had earlier recorded and toured with the great singer/songwriter Jesse Winchester. After striking out on their own, Davis and McDade enlisted vocalist/guitarist Russell Smith, keyboardist Billy Earheart, Dobro player Barry Burton, and pianist James Hooker to develop a sound composed of equal parts pop, country, and blue-eyed soul.
On July 6, 2010, Private Bradley Manning, a 22 year old intelligence analyst with the United States Army in Baghdad, was charged with disclosing this video (after allegedly speaking to an unfaithful journalist). The whistle-blower behind the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, has called Mr. Manning a ‘hero’. He is currently imprisoned in Kuwait. The Apache crew and those behind the cover up depicted in the video have yet to be charged.
Under the rubric of fighting terrorism, Danish police have proposed abolishing all anonymous Internet access. ISPs and companies would be required to gather strong proof of identity – official ID cards etc. Read the rest of this entry »
With the second Green Revolution well under way, the world’s food supply is slowly being transformed by a radically improvised agricultural paradigm. Genetically engineered crops have been introduced into the market without the rigorous testing that many scientists feel is required. The history is instructive: GMO=Contaminated Crops!
For a 4th straight year, Trojan Condoms did not score well with our reviewers mostly complaining of lack of sensitivity and overly latex smell
Some great new 2011 innovations in condom manufacturing! The arrival of the Lifestyles X2 had everyone talking! These new condoms are perfect for not only those that have an issue staying erect wearing a condom but our female testers loved them too. Our reviewers concluded that Sensitivity and Reliability are the two most important condom characteristics. Read the rest of this entry »
In the mid 1990s, Wal-Mart Discount Stores, headquartered in Arkansas, faced multiple lawsuits claiming the fact they sold guns and ammunition led to the accidental shootings of a few people, some by the hands of children. Sheryl Crow knew of this, and while in a Wal-Mart store, was shocked that the guns and ammo were being sold right next to the children’s toy section. Wal-Mart has sinced changed its policy to sell firearms in catalogs only, but at the time, it was fodder for Sheryl Crow, who would take a jab at Wal-Mart. Read the rest of this entry »
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War One.
A total departure from previous writing about television, this book is the first ever to advocate that the medium is not reformable. Its problems are inherent in the technology itself and are so dangerous — to personal health and sanity, to the environment, and to democratic processes — that TV ought to be eliminated forever. Read the rest of this entry »
"The greatest evil is not done in those sordid dens of evil that Dickens loved to paint ... but is conceived and ordered ( moved, seconded carried and minuted ) in clear, carpeted, warmed, well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices"
-- C.S. Lewis [1898-1963]
from The Screwtape Letters
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"You are talking to a leftist. I believe in the redistribution of wealth and power in the world. I believe in universal hospital care for everyone. I believe that we should not have a single homeless person in the richest country in the world. And I believe that we should not have a C.I.A. that goes around overwhelming governments and assassinating political leaders, working for tight oligarchies around the world to protect the tight oligarchy here at home."
Virgin Brain
Virginbrain is a blog by Richard Derks. Feel free to leave a comment, to react. I don’t mind it if you like to annoy me. Of course I prefer a lick every now and then
WikiLeaks
The controversial “uncensorable, anonymous whistleblowing” website based currently in Sweden
Syria's President Assad denies any government role in the Houla massacre and calls it an "ugly crime", in his first public comments since the killings.
'Her dress was split to the frontiers of decency and was so tight you could see what she was thinking" -- Sebastian Horsley
"The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything"
-- Oscar Wilde
What is the difference between genius and stupidity? Genius has limits. - Albert Einstein
"Never regret growing older, as it is a privilege denied to many !"
"Love the life you live. Live the life you love." -- Bob Marley
"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver." –Gandhi
"America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between." -- Oscar Wilde
»Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I'm not gonna make it, but you laugh inside – remembering all the times you've felt that way.«
-CHARLES BUKOWSKI
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~Dr. Seuss
“Abundance comes from making others better off.” — Anonymous
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking.
-- Steve Jobs
'Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions"
-- Edgar Cayce
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”
-- Mahatma Gandhi
"Every day, in every little way, Scientology is changing me for the better." -- Susan Meister on 01/09/1971
On 06/25/71 she was found with a bullet in her head.
'Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable' --Sydney J. Harris
"You must have LONG term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures."
-- Charles C. Noble
Sex won't make him love you, and a baby won't make him stay. -- Your Mom!