it’s all about control

For your viewing pleasure

information aesthetics weblog. In which our hero subscribes to yet another feed. (Having recently unsubbed John Battelle’s Searchblog – sorry John, no offense – because the most interesting articles are linked to by Tim Bray, Jeremey Zawodny, or Jon Udell).

When TBird reache 1.1 and all of my extensions work again I will upgrade and post a copy of my OPML over there to the right.

Oh, calm down now, I am sure you can wait.

When Neil innocently allowed the untrammeled masses to translate his journal, little did he realize the nature of the unspeakable horror that he has awoken.

Michael Geist – The Telus Blockade and the Law

Not only does the Telus action seemingly contradict the terms and spirit of the Telecommunications Act, but it also runs contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Although Telus is a private company, surely all companies whether private or public ought to respect the fundamental principles of the Charter. Section 2(b) of the Charter provides that everyone has “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Ford v. Attorney General (Quebec) that freedom of expression extends beyond the speaker to the listener, who also has an interest in freedom of expression. So too here: the website enjoys freedom of expression as do the million Telus customers who may want to read this particular expression.

Oh, you gots some ’splainin’ to do!

BBC NEWS | Technology | Downloading ‘myths’ challenged

The study found that regular downloaders of unlicensed music spent an average of £5.52 a month on legal digital music.

This compares to just £1.27 spent by other music fans.

“The research clearly shows that music fans who break piracy laws are highly valuable customers,” said Paul Brindley, director of The Leading Question.

Just in case you were wondering why the **AA go after these profligate spenders.

news @ nature.com – News Feature: Deity of disease – A small group of scientists argues that one organelle is the silent cause of the body’s decline into disease. Charlotte Schubert surveys the realm of ‘mitochondriacs’.

in recent months, solid research from various labs showing that mice age rapidly when their mitochondria are damaged and that protecting mitochondria can extend lifespan

No, Mr. Lucas, it says mitochondria, not midichlorians.

Scroll down to the Not too frequently asked questions. – A Lucky Find.™

Reason: The Life-Preserver President:How long can Republicans stay afloat?
I’ll give away the twist in the tale. Massive dislike of Bush and his policies by the democrats. Massive support for same by republicans. Indpendants (approx #0% of US voters) agree with the dems on everything but terrorism.

Now, terrorism is bad, m’kay? But seriously – not so bad that you should elect Bush.

The irony of it all is that the reason terrorism and the terrorists still have such a grip on the hearts and hearts (umm, no minds here, move along) of the US voting public, the reason that your friend and mine is still in power rather than behind bars for lying to Congress and the world, the reason is … drum roll please, the sensationalist liberal media!

Hee hee. Don’t you think that is the funniest thing ever? No, me neither, but the irony is delicious.

For what it is worth, I believe that the news media as a whole are firmly centrist with liberal reporters but conservative editors – they come off as liberal because they are tasteless (and the fundies refuse to admit that their own prurient interests are fueling that fire) and they come of as conservative because they are incompetant (and so incapable of holding those in power to task for their wrong doings). I exclude obvious mouth-pieces for one side or the other like Fox News or Air America.

3 posts in one day with actual commentary? Whatever is wrong Dr. Jones?

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Scientists play down ’superweed’

Scientists have urged caution over a study which may have found a so-called ’superweed’ growing at a site where GM crops had been trialled.
The charlock, a relative of oilseed rape, failed to shrivel up when daubed with the herbicide used to manage a biotech crop grown in the same field.
The creation of wild plants that pick up the traits of engineered crops has long been feared by anti-GM groups.
But researchers said their work showed the chances of such transfer were slim.
What is more, they argued, the study reinforced the view that the environmental impact was negligible.
‘Herbicide-tolerant weeds tend to under-perform compared with wild type, so unless all its competitors have been sprayed out with the same herbicide, it won’t thrive,’ commented Dr Les Firbank, who led the consortium of scientists on the recent UK Farm-Scale Evaluations (FSEs) of genetically modified plants.

See, I think that Dr. Les is kind of a biased source. Much like Jim “Luddites are too technical for me” Jimson would be. No balance to the article. And, as much as the researchers would like to say that the chances were slim, the chances, as we can see, are not none. Which means there will be release into the wild. And this also means there could be re-introduction from the wild into domestic crops. And since there is no doubt a patent on this particular gene-mod I can see a bunch of farmers getting sued by some filthy Big Pharma company and a complacent and technologically ignorant government and judiciary going along with it.

In the end I see this kind of herbicide resistance as being related to our over use of anti-biotics. It will breed more resistant weds and the herbicides will grow progressivelyh stronger and more toxic.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not inherently against genetic engineering – we’ve been doing it ever since we domesticated our first species and I see the potential for real benefit in terms of increased protein in staple crops and more weather resistant species – but to laugh off all resistance as foolish fear-mongering is, well, foolish.

I am so glad that the MSM is picking up on this story. Telus has really screwed the pooch on this one. Whoever signed the go-ahead deserves to be sued 5 ways from Sunday. Cesnorship. Pfah.
[Update]
Heh. The kids over on /. raise a good point. If Telus decides that it is no longer a common carrier by flitering content like this, well then I guess they just lost all of their protection against anything illegal that traverses their network now didn’t they? Kiddie pr0n and SPAM charges will no doubt be filed shortly.