Amphigouri: varnished nonsense

Snippets from something I turned in for class recently, related to this silly legislation that was introduced to the Senate last week:

Under pressure from a fearful and hidebound content industry and in the guise of protecting our nation’s children from the “worst type of villains” - those who would corrupt and exploit the innocence of children by encouraging them to commit copyright infringement and/or access pornography - Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has introduced new copyright legislation that ultimately threatens to stifle technological and creative innovation. Hatch is no stranger to copyright controversies; he’s a co-author of the widely criticized DMCA, and last year suggested consideration of legislation that would grant copyright holders the right to destroy the computers of those believed to illegally download music (a suggestion that elicited more than one raised eyebrow and never officially made it to the Senate floor). Now, he is trying a different tack in a misguided attempt to curb perceived copyright infringement and thereby appease officials in the music and movie industries.

Originally dubbed the Inducement Devolves into Unlawful Child Exploitation (INDUCE) Act, the IICA (Inducing Infringements of Copyright Act) bill proposes an amendment to existing copyright law that would enable copyright owners to sue anyone who “induces” copyright infringement, where “intentional inducement” is defined as “intentionally aids, abets, induces, or procures” and “intent may be shown by acts from which a reasonable person would find intent to induce infringement.”

The primary targets of this legislation are the vendors of P2P (peer-to-peer) file sharing software that enables PC owners to download and/or share files over a network connection. P2P vendors such as Napster, Grokster, and Morpheus have come under considerable fire, particularly from the music industry, because many users of the services download music and movie files illegally. Last year the courts determined that P2P software distributors are not legally liable for this copyright; this new bill would essentially overturn that decision, and could also impact the 1984 Betamax lawsuit, which stated VCRs are legal because they are “capable of substantial noninfringing uses.” Additionally, the overly broad language of the Act opens the door for court rulings against manufacturers of other technologies such as photocopiers, DVRs (e.g., Tivo, ReplayTV), and MP3 players such as Apple’s iPod; lawyers for the Electronic Frontier Foundation have already drafted a mock lawsuit against Apple as an example, claiming that the iPod’s 10,000 song capacity is well above the size of the average user’s music collection, and thus induces copyright infringement by inviting users to download music illegally to store on the device.

[snip of other details that can be found by reading any of the search results for "induce act".. and boring bits of me complaining about how Hatch is using the kids and artists as an excuse to push through legislation on behalf of the RIAA and etc.]

Legislators should refrain from pushing legislation that panders to Hollywood’s manufactured need for ultimate control while simultaneously rewarding their stubborn refusal to accommodate contemporary methods of producing, distributing, and enjoying entertainment. Promoting the notion that such pandering in any way protects children is particularly shameless. Instead, Washington would do well to encourage the RIAA and other copyright owners to invest in programs to educate citizens about fair use, the purpose behind copyright laws, and their rights and responsibilities in an increasingly digital age. Even more importantly, in the spirit of forward-thinking American innovation, legislators and copyright holders alike should be looking for ways to embrace these new technologies and associated opportunities in ways that will spur ever more creative, artistic, and literary output.

So there. Hmf.

(and many thanks to my editor for giving this a once-over last week! )

I need to get my digital camera fixed (again. blast.) so I can start carrying it around with me everywhere… I never know when I’m gonna need or want it.
Take the other day, for example. Oh, to have had my camera ready to capture the unfolding circus centered around my lovely car, Trog, this past weekend. (I should note here that the name did not originally stem from the Trogdor character.. although we’ve since adorned our Trog with a Trogdor sticker)

I’m often a procrastinator when it comes to car maintenance. I almost always go past the “recommended” 3,000 miles before getting the oil changed, for example (and with this new car it’s usually a lot more than that, since the “change oil soon” light is not - according to the manual - actually a sign that I’m Already Screwed, but is merely a helpful suggestion). True to form, I had waited until the light went on to get the change, and had gone 5k miles past the time for Trog’s 30,000-mile tune-up. On Saturday I drove over to the local dealer to get the oil change and part of the tune-up that could be done quickly (we were scheduled to head to Maine ’round noon), which amounted to air & fuel filter changes. All went well, and I headed over to the mall to do some last minute shopping. All went downhill quickly after that…

In a hurry to get home to pack & head northward, I tossed my purchases in the car and started ‘er up. Or tried to. The thing wouldn’t turn over, even after multiple attempts. Suspecting problems from the oil change, opened my car door and looked down, seeing a HUGE dark puddle spreading out from under my car. Assuming it was related to the oil change (and not really registering the smell of gasoline wafting from the mess), I called the dealer and they sent a tow truck over immediately. While I was on the phone, a kind passerby stopped to ask if I was ok, and then went on about his business when I informed him a truck was en route. More about passerby in a moment.

Unfortunately for me, the dealer - the same folks who had not an hour earlier spent 90 minutes working on my car - informed the tow folks that Trog was a front-wheel drive, when, in fact, it’s AWD. By this time, TowGuy - with his FWD-only truck - and I are both sitting in the parking lot (now registering the gas fumes, and staring with some concern at the huge puddle under my car) waiting for the flatbed truck to arrive. Previous passerby wanders back to his car, and drives off talking on his cell phone. I think nothing of this, until the police car shows up a few minutes later, informing us that someone called them to report the gas leak (hm. I don’t know whether to be mildly annoyed or grateful). At the same time, two representatives from Mall Security come out to get details for their report, and while we’re going over that, the firetruck arrives. Neat.

Husband arrives. Curious onlookers gather. Firemen spray their petro-safe foam stuff on the spill, on the underside of my car, on the underside of the car next to mine. We all wait for the flatbed. Husband and I boggle at our lack of significant outrage at the incident, even though it’s obvious that something Serious happened while Trog was being serviced, and a simple spark could have ignited and any one of us (me!) could have been crispy critters there in the parking lot.

Anyway, to make a long and boring (in the retelling, at any rate) story short, it was a “faulty fuel filter clip” that went unnoticed during the filter change, which caused my car to leak large amounts of gas when the ignition was turned on (I can hear you skeptics saying “yeah, right, faulty fuel clip indeed; we’re choosing to believe the claim). Quickly fixed at the garage, with apologies and a promise to provide the remainder of the tune-up in a few days, free-of-charge.