Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Survey: 86 percent of spam from US. WASHINGTON - Just under 86 percent of spam sent to 1,000 enterprises between May and July came from U.S. spammers, according to a survey by CipherTrust Inc. [InfoWorld: Top News] 10:06:15 PM    comment []

Porter Goss and that blue dress. The confirmation quest of Porter Goss has the makings of a nasty political fight, and Goss himself has poured much of the fuel on the partisan fire. Over the last several months, Goss has been a helpful handmaiden in Bush's re-election fight. As the Washington Post reported today, Goss participated in a Bush campaign conference call with reporters in June, saying that some of John Kerry's national security proposals were "naïve." Later in the month, Goss used a House debate on the intelligence authorization bill as an opportunity to campaign against Kerry. In comments made on the House floor, Goss criticized the Massachusetts senator for suggesting, in 1997, that the end of the Cold War might lead to reductions in U.S. intelligence spending. Many Republicans shared that view, of course. As the analysts at the Annenberg Public Policy Center pointed out in a recent Fact Check, leaders from both parties suggested that the collapse of the Soviet Union should lead to cuts in the intelligence budget. In 1996, the bi-partisan Aspin Commission acknowledged that the intelligence budgets would have to be cut in order to balance the federal budget, and that such cuts "may be possible without damaging the nation's security." The Commission's members included Paul Wolfowitz -- and Porter Goss. None of that stopped Goss's partisan attack on the House floor. "There is no doubt where the record is," Goss said in June. "The Democratic Party did not support the intelligence community." It isn't the first time Goss has lowered himself into the partisan pit. Although a federal grand jury is now apparently deep into an investigation of the outing of CIA agent Valeria Plame, Goss dismissed the matter last year as part of a "much larger dose of partisan politics." Goss suggested that the leak of an agent's identity was akin to the many other leaks that spring in Washington, and therefore not important enough to investigate. In the process, Goss revealed what kind of charges he would take seriously: "Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I'll have an investigation."  [Salon.com] 10:05:17 PM    comment []

The Changing Economics of Internet Video. Here's a new term for your conversations about the future of media: "Internet bypass." I first came across it in a fascinating report, "Pipe Dreams: Media's Exploding Capacity," prepared for investors by Tom Wolzien of Bernstein Research (wolzientr@bernstein.com). His report focuses on the economics of video distribution, and his conclusion is a little startling: We are nearing the day when Internet-delivered video can be delivered at prices -- and video quality -- competitive with cable. Wolzien finds that a 300Kbps video stream (the quality of MLB.com's Web video service for baseball games) already can be delivered as economically (...) Entry continued... [unmediated] 5:23:40 PM    comment []

Olympic surveillance. This article from Globetechnology cautions that "if you're planning to attend this month's Olympic Games,you'd best be careful what you say and do in public.Software will be watching and listening".The system,"gathers images and audio from an electronic Web of more than 1,000 high-resolution and infrared cameras,12 patrol boats, 4,000 vehicles, nine helicopters, a sensor-laden blimp and four mobile command centres.Spoken words collected by the cameras with speech-recognition software are transcribed into text that is then searched for patterns along with other electronic communications entering and leaving the area, including e-mail and image files".It covers all of greater Athens, nine ports, airports and all other Olympic cities. Unprecedented electronic net for Olympics [Smart Mobs] 7:16:44 AM    comment []

An Original Way to Go Postal. The Postal Service has approved a three-month trial allowing consumers to design their own stamps. So if you're sick of flags and toy cars, now's your chance to make a change. By Daniel Terdiman. [Wired News] http://photo.stamps.com/ 7:13:46 AM    comment []

Much of Bordeaux Goes Begging. For most Bordeaux vineyards but the great estates, life has grown grim in what was once the undisputed capital of the wine world. By By FRANK J. PRIAL. [The New York Times > Dining and Wine] 7:13:13 AM    comment []

Einstein and Freud Go to a Bar, and Freud Says . . .. Richard Panek argues that Einstein and Freud revolutionized intellectual history by running thought experiments, not interpreting evidence. By By DAVID GELERNTER. [The New York Times > Science] 7:13:06 AM    comment []

Fair Use in the Digital Age.  Out of concern that the Digital Millenium Copyright Act went too far in restricting fair use in the digital era, I have drafted and introduced along with John Doolittle of California H.R. 107, the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act. Among other objectives, the bill would confirm that a person would... [Lessig (guest) Blog] 7:00:22 AM    comment []

Ferreting out copyright scofflaws. The "Play It Safe in Cyber Space" campaign will culminate with a four-page comic book, distributed in conjunction with tot journal the Weekly Reader, meant to impress kids with the idea that it's not OK to freely swap software, games, music and other copyrighted content. The comic will feature the droopy-drawers ferret, who for now is referred to as the "Copyright Crusader." Kids are urged to help select his final name by submitting votes next month through the BSA's Web site.  . . . The campaign also includes an online game in which the ferret races to destroy pirated copies of software while collecting valid licensing agreements. The ferret, by the way, does seem to be an odd mascot choice for an organization devoted to strict legal adherence, given that the weasel-like mammals are outlawed in California and several other states. [CNET News.com] Also from CNET.com: MPAA wins settlement in DVD copy case. Shortly after 321 Studios closes its doors, the MPAA settles its copyright infringement suit against the company. 6:58:12 AM    comment []

Surfing property rights Surfing property rights Great blog entry about the rules regarding surfers' "property rights" of ocean waves and how the surfing community enforces them. How do surfers enforce their wave rights? For the most part, they rely on the gentle arts of social suasion. Surfers bobbing in the line-up make up a community of sorts, one often strengthened by the presence of locals who know and look out for each other. Getting the stink-eye for dropping in on somebody else’s wave stings badly enough. Sanctions against repeat offenders may escalate to sharp words or, in extraordinary cases, to physical violence. When someone dropped in on me recently, for instance, I first forebore the offense, then took alarm at his unsafe proximity and verbally warned him to back-off. Finally, when that proved unavailing, I put my hand on the punk’s chest, shoved him off his board, and finished out my ride. Link (via Hit and Run) [bOing bOing] 6:51:02 AM    comment []