http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/01321523153/kitchen-nightmares-lawyers-threaten-infamous-samy-amy-if-they-talk-about-their-experience-show.shtml#c391 Tue, 21 May 2013 20:25:17 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/01321523153/kitchen-nightmares-lawyers-threaten-infamous-samy-amy-if-they-talk-about-their-experience-show.shtml#c391
Reading is hard.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130517/13573923121/retired-lt-col-violent-media-has-bred-generation-killers.shtml#c1214 Tue, 21 May 2013 20:24:18 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130517/13573923121/retired-lt-col-violent-media-has-bred-generation-killers.shtml#c1214
Not impossible in the same way it's not impossible for a beautiful work of art to inspire a person to kill. That's nowhere near likely enough for concern."
Worthless if you consider what Grossman argued to be worthless. Face the music (pun intended), if you honestly believe that the arts have value to the moral and intellectual development of a person, then equally valid would be violent entertainment, especially the interactive kind. Critics like you and the Hollywood types want to have it your way: When someone does something good because of the creative arts, you have no problems putting on false modesty and spew flowery rhetoric on how much you contribute to humanity. But when someone does something bad because of the products that came from those same creative minds, you are equally quick to disassociate the human mind from your products and the same ability to influence.

"That's right. The irony is nevertheless plain to see."
The irony that I see so far is that those who have never read and think about what Grossman wrote have no problems criticizing him and his work.

"The only difference appears to be that killing in times of war is somehow perceived to be legitimate regardless of the motives for whichever side you're on, and that the role of psychologists like Grossman is to help young cadets come to grips with the emotional consequences of such a necessary act."
You do not need to go to war. Look at your own paramilitary peacekeeping forces: the local police. They have the authority to openly bear arms and to kill if necessary in belief of a higher cause. Just like the military does. The common theme here is that both the police and the military are controlled environments in training adults on how and when to kill. They do it in virtual as well as real world conditions. They talk with their veterans, especially those who had to take human lives in the course of their duties, on what it feels like to kill and the emotional toll upon a person after the act.

The creative community glorifies killing, as in making the act enjoyable for the person, at least in the virtual world. The police and military forces do not have that luxury, if anything, they discourages such mentality, because they know that what they learned in training (virtual) they may have to do it in the real world.

"You think Grossman would have a bigger problem with that than with fictional violence."
This is where you and critics like you are wrong. The human mind is the source of our problems and solutions. Anything that influences the mind to solve problems and create solutions deserves scrutiny.

I was in Kuwait City after we booted out the Iraqi Army. I saw the results of what one person did to another, especially to women, and wondered what were in their minds before they did those things and while they were doing those things. I look at the violent video games we have today and cannot help but seriously wonder if Grossman may have understated the effects of uncontrolled provocation of passions in a human mind, especially when the entertainment is interactive like games instead of passive reception from watching movies.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/00554723091/more-details-emerge-key-legal-fight-over-dmca-abuse.shtml#c210 Tue, 21 May 2013 20:21:55 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/00554723091/more-details-emerge-key-legal-fight-over-dmca-abuse.shtml#c210
This fight is about Dr. Amy's efforts to combat misinformation from the "natural birth" community, which is repeated as gospel around the web, and has contributed to the preventable deaths of mothers and babies. There are lives at stake here. After witnessing 20 births, Gina confessed that perhaps she wasn't the expert on birth that she thought she was, and Dr. Amy pounced on this admission. Gina's childish reaction shows how important her credibility with the "natural birth" crowd is to her. It's much more important to her than the evidence.

This is much more than a catfight, and if you had a wife/daughter led astray by the influential Ginas of this world, as many of the skeptical ob's followers were at one time, you would understand why it's so important that Dr. Amy not be silenced because Gina can't refute Dr. Amy's rock-solid analysis of the evidence. This fight is the furthest thing from silly. Please read the hurtbyhomebirth blog if you have any more doubts.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130521/12175523157/nyc-says-renting-out-your-place-via-airbnb-is-running-illegal-hotel.shtml#c303 Tue, 21 May 2013 20:19:32 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130521/12175523157/nyc-says-renting-out-your-place-via-airbnb-is-running-illegal-hotel.shtml#c303
The rules for short stay hotels are there for many reasons, specifically public safety. This is both in the sense of things like fire and well being, but also at the same time safety away from potential criminals and crooks who may harm their "guests". Imagine the hidden cameras, or running through your luggage, or perhaps re-renting a property that they don't own and have in fact just broken into - talk about a way to generate from free cash, right?

We won't get into the risks of things like liability insurance, fire exits, and for that matter the tax avoidance of this nice under the table cash income - and of course, the avoidance of any room or lodging taxes charged by the city or state.

Zoning laws are also important, as they exist to keep residental neighborhoods from being turned into commercial areas. I would hate to live in a "secure" building in New York, only to have a stream of strangers coming in to spend a single night at the condo on the same floor as me.

Closely focusing only on the technology, and forgetting that the transaction happens in the real world with all the risks and legal implications that come with it is classic. It explains so much of why the patent and copyright hating goes on here with little real world connection.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080306/003240458/if-intellectual-property-is-neither-intellectual-property-what-is-it.shtml#c4659 Tue, 21 May 2013 20:11:51 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080306/003240458/if-intellectual-property-is-neither-intellectual-property-what-is-it.shtml#c4659 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/15164823159/bad-day-prenda-continues-judge-rejects-stay-adds-1k-per-day-each-day-they-dont-pay-up.shtml#c373 Tue, 21 May 2013 20:02:17 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/15164823159/bad-day-prenda-continues-judge-rejects-stay-adds-1k-per-day-each-day-they-dont-pay-up.shtml#c373 horse with no shame is much more fitting.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101209/09504712210/dailydirt-taking-another-look-nuclear-energy.shtml#c288 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:54:29 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101209/09504712210/dailydirt-taking-another-look-nuclear-energy.shtml#c288 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130516/18383623114/your-word-against-ours-how-fbis-no-electronic-recording-policy-rigs-game-destroys-its-credibility.shtml#c599 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:44:30 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130516/18383623114/your-word-against-ours-how-fbis-no-electronic-recording-policy-rigs-game-destroys-its-credibility.shtml#c599
Kangaroo, meet court; court, meet miscarriage of justice.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/18364622931/ma-teen-arrested-held-without-bail-posting-supposed-terrorist-threat-facebook.shtml#c1148 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:42:24 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/18364622931/ma-teen-arrested-held-without-bail-posting-supposed-terrorist-threat-facebook.shtml#c1148
I think it's a perfect lesson in be careful what you say. Now when this is all over he can go back to playing soccer and having his mom drop him off at the mall instead of trying to pretend he's some tough gangster.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/18364622931/ma-teen-arrested-held-without-bail-posting-supposed-terrorist-threat-facebook.shtml#c1124 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:42:12 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/18364622931/ma-teen-arrested-held-without-bail-posting-supposed-terrorist-threat-facebook.shtml#c1124
I think it's a perfect lesson in be careful what you say. Now when this is all over he can go back to playing soccer and having his mom drop him off at the mall instead of trying to pretend he's some tough gangster.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c466 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:41:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c466 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/15164823159/bad-day-prenda-continues-judge-rejects-stay-adds-1k-per-day-each-day-they-dont-pay-up.shtml#c350 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:40:54 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/15164823159/bad-day-prenda-continues-judge-rejects-stay-adds-1k-per-day-each-day-they-dont-pay-up.shtml#c350 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/01450023148/makers-nutella-force-fan-who-created-world-nutella-day-to-shut-it-down-updated.shtml#c617 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:38:13 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/01450023148/makers-nutella-force-fan-who-created-world-nutella-day-to-shut-it-down-updated.shtml#c617 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/01450023148/makers-nutella-force-fan-who-created-world-nutella-day-to-shut-it-down-updated.shtml#c603 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:34:54 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/01450023148/makers-nutella-force-fan-who-created-world-nutella-day-to-shut-it-down-updated.shtml#c603 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/10401723156/if-you-think-you-should-actually-own-products-you-bought-now-would-be-good-time-to-call-congress.shtml#c1592 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:23:07 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/10401723156/if-you-think-you-should-actually-own-products-you-bought-now-would-be-good-time-to-call-congress.shtml#c1592 That's not what I said. The anticircumvention provisions strengthen copyright holders' rights by making it more difficult to circumvent access controls. Those access controls make it more difficult to infringe. By making it legal to traffic in these circumvention technologies, that in turn makes it easier to infringe.

Ah, I think I get the fundamental difference in viewpoint that's causing the issue. Let me see if I understand this correctly.

In your view, copyright is a natural right that creators of works possess. They created it, therefore they own it, and anyone else who accesses must follow their rules. "Fair use" is an exception that temporarily diminshes the creator's rights in order to allow the public access to certain allowed uses of the work, such as parody or news reporting. Is that close?

Because that's the opposite of my view, and arguably of the Constitutional view. In my view copyright is a temporary right granted to creators to supress my natural right to do with it whatever the heck I want.

To take it to a real world example, if one of my friends tells a story at a party, what "right" does he have to that story? I can tell the story, change the story, or do whatever I want with it, as people have always done. People copy each other reflexively and naturally; look up the concept of "mirroring" in psychology. They have no natural right to their stories, ideas, and behaviors that prevent other people from mimicking or using in their own way. How do you think dialects start?

In other words, "copyright" is a commercial protection of culture to encourage the creation of more culture. Put another way, "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The key part in both concepts is the purpose or intent...in my version the "encourage the creation of more culture" and in the Constitutional language "To promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts."

You seem focused on the rights of creators as if the purpose of those rights is to make the creators money and to prevent other people from infringing on their copyright. This is not, and has never been, the purpose behind copyright law, although it is being widely used for it now.

So from your point of view, this change would weaken copyright law by removing the "right" of preventing infringement and loss of control. From my point of view this change strengthens copyright law by promoting the exchange of ideas, reducing economic waste by those who are not creators (the distribution companies), and by increasing the value of copyrighted works.

To illustrate my point, I will utilize a bit of fair use:
"So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view."]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130505/14372422951/court-finds-fantasy-stories-obscene.shtml#c1111 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:14:33 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130505/14372422951/court-finds-fantasy-stories-obscene.shtml#c1111 Left alone and permitted without restriction, this sort of thing expresses that society thinks this is okay, acceptable in it's own way, and that the acts portrayed in it are equally acceptable.

Permitting speech does not mean condoning the actions the speech describes. It is perfectly acceptable to write about rape, murder, and genocide, but we don't condone any of those activities.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/01321523153/kitchen-nightmares-lawyers-threaten-infamous-samy-amy-if-they-talk-about-their-experience-show.shtml#c389 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:14:28 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/01321523153/kitchen-nightmares-lawyers-threaten-infamous-samy-amy-if-they-talk-about-their-experience-show.shtml#c389
It's so simmm-pollllll!]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/18364622931/ma-teen-arrested-held-without-bail-posting-supposed-terrorist-threat-facebook.shtml#c1109 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:11:17 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130502/18364622931/ma-teen-arrested-held-without-bail-posting-supposed-terrorist-threat-facebook.shtml#c1109 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c453 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:04:31 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c453 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c434 Tue, 21 May 2013 19:03:35 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/14172323158/judge-not-impressed-prenda-alan-cooper-lawsuit.shtml#c434