There are too many engineers looking for an edge to promote themselves. Even if some went on stike, the rest would continue swooping in like vultures, cutting out the ethical engineers in the ongoing Patent land grab.
Sadly, both sides of the issue miss a more important point: Most of us learned very little from the programs that were given in high school.
High school economics is a joke: very little is covered and examples frequently have little to do with the real world. Furthermore, the direct association between Economics and Politics is completely ignored.
Shifting the focus from economics to personal finance isn't going to hurt the problem because the current approach doesn't actually help.
It strikes me that the right answer is to teach both ... much more of both. Oh, and take a hint from college programs around the country: Use real world case studies to help students see the real picture.
CST: You assume people actually adhere to the law in this situation. All it really takes to file a DMCA takedown notice is to file the DMCA takedown notice. The application of this segment of law has devolved into "ask [for the takedown] and you shall receive", regardless of actual legality. Fair use and other tests are often not performed until after the content has already been taken down.
In other words, you can use fair use to fight a DMCA takedown request, but that will never prevent an asshole from filing it or from dragging you through the legal hassle.
First, all of you who claim that TPB does not infringe are correct. TPB does not infringe: they create an infrastructure that facilitates file sharing. Some users of that infrastructure have chosen to share files which, according current legal definitions, do infringe.
Second, I read a report (here? somewhere else? sorry no reference) that basically showed that link popularity is frequently exponention, with only a small percentage of content commanding a large percentage of hits. As WH notes, all of the Top 100 links on TPB are "infringing copies" (again legal definition, not mine). This just supports the well established fact that a LARGE PERCENTAGE of content linked by TPB is infringing (again, current legal definition).
All Facebook is doing is proactively protecting themselves from potential litigations. Sure this means the bad guys' lawyers are winning, but it doesn't mean the war is over. For all you guys out there with legit content, why not focus on the next workaround?
As Facebook is demonstrating here, TPB's reputation is starting to cause legal concerns for big companies. So what? TPB is not the only torrent provider, nor are torrents the only solution.
Are all of you legitimate content providers going to use this whole situation as a reason to get even more creative, or are you going to sit around complaining about your problems like the RIAA and print media?
Gotcha TA. Spot on. The CMO assets were grossly overvalued when they hit the street. In the current market, they are now grossly undervalued, even after accounting for future expectations of defaults and foreclosures.
"i don't think you guys get it"? We, and especially Andy, do get it. The wikipedia entry on Andy is thin but still accurate.
As it shows, he's absolutely willing to invest in debt, when it is priced right.
Investors are now so afraid to hold these assets that they are a good, cheap investment for those willing to buy them. As you suggested, he will buy them at a discount, although probably for more on the order of 60 cents on the dollar.
This isn't the first time Andy has bet on the bust, nor is it likely to be the last. He has a trademark personality for spotting the bubble, protecting his business on the front end, and then profiting on the back end. It's a shame the a-holes that caused the problem get to compete with him.
BTW, TA, when you say [Andy] will "start to try to collect on these bad loans", what do you mean? That kind of a question makes me think you have no idea what you are talking about.
"We need to solicit ideas and let the best ideas bubble to the top based on consensus."
As wonderful as that sounds, I seriously doubt "consensus" would result in the adoption of "best ideas". After all, we as a nation decide ours leaders according to "consensus", and look where that got us.
Moderation, I hope he doesn't win. The bank has a fraud procedure in place. This event will fall into the hands of that group, who will probably refund the money quickly in light of the glaring evidence. The lawsuit will be nothing more than a waste of court time and bank money.
A thought on value: Albeit delayed, search engine optimization will still occur, and now with the optimum URL and a clean neighborhood. Framlingham College has won a moral and ethical victory here. This is a strong indication of character to prospective students, alumni and the community alike.
From Michael Beck: "I think there should be some limit on how long intellectual property deals can last.. "
One more comment to add to your already accurate response:
THERE IS A LIMIT: The duration of EVERY contract is determined by a combination of two factors:
(1) The Law
(2) The duration agreed upon by the Parties and set forth within the contract
Periods of 1 - 5 years are common in IP option contracts. It's not Fox's fault nobody thought of that.
And then, Lloyd Levin goes even farther out into the woods by failing to mention the fact that THE ORIGINAL CREATERS KNEW THEY HAD SOLD THE RIGHTS AND MADE THE FILM ANYWAY! They didn't even try to buy the rights back.
Shame on Fox?!? Hardly!! Shame on everyone else for being stupid, shame on them a second time for being willful about it, and then shame once more for whining about it.
On the post: 20th Century Fox Sends Takedowns Over Its Own YouTube Mashup Contest
Something's fishy
On the post: Australian High Court Says Electronic TV Guide Isn't Copyright Infringement
Re:
On the post: More Congress Critters Want To Track And Tax Your Driving Habits
Re: Re:
Has anybody checked to see if Oberstar is owner/investor in a GPS manufacturer?
On the post: Newspapers, The Recording Industry And A Misplaced Sense Of Entitlement
History repeats itself ... again
On the post: Suggestion: Engineers Go On A Patent Strike
Not gonna happen
On the post: Court Rejects Plan To Broadcast Tenenbaum Trial
Film Project Opportunity
Anybody interested in a film project?
On the post: Just As We Need More Economics Education, Why Is California Looking To Limit It?
Missing the Bigger Picture
High school economics is a joke: very little is covered and examples frequently have little to do with the real world. Furthermore, the direct association between Economics and Politics is completely ignored.
Shifting the focus from economics to personal finance isn't going to hurt the problem because the current approach doesn't actually help.
It strikes me that the right answer is to teach both ... much more of both. Oh, and take a hint from college programs around the country: Use real world case studies to help students see the real picture.
On the post: NBC Universal's Great Idea: Let's Make It Harder And More Expensive To Watch The Olympics
Don't worry about it...
Truly, I am looking forward to how this one plays out.
On the post: Going Too Far In Kowtowing To Copyright Holders
Re: Re:
In other words, you can use fair use to fight a DMCA takedown request, but that will never prevent an asshole from filing it or from dragging you through the legal hassle.
On the post: Overly Aggressive Automated Takedowns Hit Scribd
Better than ...
On the post: Facebook Overreacts: Decides All Of The Pirate Bay Is Illegal
I normally don't side with WH, but ...
First, all of you who claim that TPB does not infringe are correct. TPB does not infringe: they create an infrastructure that facilitates file sharing. Some users of that infrastructure have chosen to share files which, according current legal definitions, do infringe.
Second, I read a report (here? somewhere else? sorry no reference) that basically showed that link popularity is frequently exponention, with only a small percentage of content commanding a large percentage of hits. As WH notes, all of the Top 100 links on TPB are "infringing copies" (again legal definition, not mine). This just supports the well established fact that a LARGE PERCENTAGE of content linked by TPB is infringing (again, current legal definition).
All Facebook is doing is proactively protecting themselves from potential litigations. Sure this means the bad guys' lawyers are winning, but it doesn't mean the war is over. For all you guys out there with legit content, why not focus on the next workaround?
As Facebook is demonstrating here, TPB's reputation is starting to cause legal concerns for big companies. So what? TPB is not the only torrent provider, nor are torrents the only solution.
Are all of you legitimate content providers going to use this whole situation as a reason to get even more creative, or are you going to sit around complaining about your problems like the RIAA and print media?
On the post: The Contrarian Banker Who Avoided Bad Loans... And Is Now Buying Up The Scraps
"i don't think you guys get it"? We, and especially Andy, do get it. The wikipedia entry on Andy is thin but still accurate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Beal
As it shows, he's absolutely willing to invest in debt, when it is priced right.
Investors are now so afraid to hold these assets that they are a good, cheap investment for those willing to buy them. As you suggested, he will buy them at a discount, although probably for more on the order of 60 cents on the dollar.
On the post: The Contrarian Banker Who Avoided Bad Loans... And Is Now Buying Up The Scraps
Seen it before
BTW, TA, when you say [Andy] will "start to try to collect on these bad loans", what do you mean? That kind of a question makes me think you have no idea what you are talking about.
On the post: Journalistic Regulatory Capture
Astute Observations
On the post: Those Who Surf Facebook And YouTube At Work Are Often More Productive
Busy, busy, busy
On the post: President Obama Still Missing The Point: Include The Public In The Process, Not Just The Selling
Best Ideas vs. Consensus
As wonderful as that sounds, I seriously doubt "consensus" would result in the adoption of "best ideas". After all, we as a nation decide ours leaders according to "consensus", and look where that got us.
On the post: Lawyer Sues Citibank For Not Stopping Him From Losing Money In Nigerian Scam
On the post: ASCAP Working To Shut Up Free Culture Supporters
Confused? Really?!?
On the post: School Wins Cybersquatting Case, But Was It Worth It?
Ethics Matter
On the post: Watchmen Producer Explains Why Fox Doesn't Deserve A Cut
...Fox is allowed to be jerks
One more comment to add to your already accurate response:
THERE IS A LIMIT: The duration of EVERY contract is determined by a combination of two factors:
(1) The Law
(2) The duration agreed upon by the Parties and set forth within the contract
Periods of 1 - 5 years are common in IP option contracts. It's not Fox's fault nobody thought of that.
And then, Lloyd Levin goes even farther out into the woods by failing to mention the fact that THE ORIGINAL CREATERS KNEW THEY HAD SOLD THE RIGHTS AND MADE THE FILM ANYWAY! They didn't even try to buy the rights back.
Shame on Fox?!? Hardly!! Shame on everyone else for being stupid, shame on them a second time for being willful about it, and then shame once more for whining about it.