Monthly Archive for November, 2009

“Three Strikes and You’re Out”

Published on 19 November 2009 in filesharing. 8 Comments

Sadly, the phrase does no refer to Neo-Labour’s prospects of getting re-elected which about the same as those of Geeklawyer getting made a Court of Appeal judge. Nor does it refer to the number times a British policeman can beat a G20 protester to death before being being invited to retire due to ‘ill-heath’ where the correct answer is of course ‘none’: G20 protesters are domestic extremists to be suppressed, even the 7 stone lady ones.

No. it’s all about Peter ‘Pink’ Mandelson, Tony Blair’s brain and fan of penetrating rear attacks on political rivals and extremely young male friends. After being wined dined and 69’d on David Geffen’s yacht Mandy decided to go off on a trip of his own: “Three Strikes and Your off” legislation. Three accusations of copyright infringement and you lose the Internet.

Despite well considered independent advice on the economics of policy decisions for the Internet from Professor Gower and various others it seems that all it takes to buy Labour policy is a bribe from a Formula One homunculus or a blow job from a rent boy on a nice yacht. Regrettably while Geeklawyer has a big mouth there some things he wont swallow, one is the member of Hartlepool; not even for something as important as this.

No, the Government has decided to disconnect alleged filesharers from the Internet. The implementation details are not known but if current behaviour seen employed elsewhere by the music industry is followed their will be much injustice. Purveyors of software snake-oil will be seen selling packages supposedly proving who downloaded what when. Some of these packages can work but many are drivel: in the past pensioners with no computer have been accused of file-sharing as have networked printers.

The consequences can be severe. In Finland Internet access is now a civic right. For many the Internet is as important a household service as electricity or sanitation: Geeklawyer often strongly considers what the broadband is like when deciding where to live. If a family’s kids download MP3s the whole household will be blocked from Internet access. Collective punishment.  All of this is based on no proven harm, at least none apart from the Music and film Industries telling us that the sky is falling down. To call this a disproportionate and draconian response is almost understating it.

Geeklawyer’s voting recommendation in the upcoming election? Vote for the Pirate Party: rape pillage and sensible IP & privacy laws

Update:
Geeklawyer forgot to plug the Open Rights Group. Doh. ORG do sterling work in this area. If you oppose this then join ORG now! (they do other cool stuff too)

Film review: ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’

Published on 9 November 2009 in films. 1 Comment

An unexpectedly funny film about whacko military special-op types engaged in paranormal techniques to fight the Enemies of Freedom™

The blurb from the Odeon website says:

Inspired by a real life story and featuring an all-star cast, ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ is a dark comedy about a top-secret wing of the U.S. military.

Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), part of an experimental unit of psychic ‘Warrior Monks’ — who claim to read minds, walk through walls and kill goats simply by staring at them!

When the unit’s leader, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), goes missing Bob tracks him down to a secret training camp run by clandestine psychic Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey).

The alarming thing is that elements of the film are anchored in 1960’s reality: the US Army really did shoot dogs to train medics how to deal with gunshot wounds, though whether they changed to goats because squaddies found shooting dogs unacceptable can’t be verified. Were it a decision made today one presumes they’d have used women and kids from Falujah. Again. Equally the reality dodging wacky wing of the CIA really did have a lavishly financed remote viewing program: inspired perhaps by liberal the use of liberated CIA LSD.

There were finely judged touches of hilarity. Clooney refers to his unit as ‘Jedi’ warriors and to the Ewan McGregor character as an unrecognised Jedi. Rather amusing, and one wonders whether McGregor was only cast because of his Star Wars role just so that they could crack this joke.

I’d like to hate Clooney: he is one of those handsome types seemingly all women love and while he cannot match Geeklawyer’s rugged good looks charm and turbo-charged totty pulling ability he comes close. This is threatening. Despite that his performance has to be recognised as excellent: he delivers funny lies with a granite like straight face. Oh George, you annoying fucker.

Bridges portrayal of the unit’s founding special forces soldier turning into a hippy who persuades khaki clad granite faced men-mountain into holding flowers and doing tai-chi was bizarre and delightful.

Spacey McGregor and Bridges all performed well together and there was a definite chemistry. It was also a little odd in a film such as this not to have that infuriating Hollywood cliché, the token female love interest: Kate Beckinsale was nowhere in sight.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is very much to be recommended as a genre & cliché defying great watch.

Dear Mr Obama, about that extradition treaty

Published on 4 November 2009 in Civil Liberties and terrorbollocks. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

There is news that 13 member of the infamous US state terrorist organisation the CIA have been convicted in absentia of kidnapping an Italian citizen in order to rendite him for torture by Egyptian proxies. It raises the issue of whether or not these thugs will ever see justice. The American Society for International Law thinks not. Geeklawyer disagrees with their view that his abduction was not kidnap because the US Supreme Court requires there to be some benefit to the CIA agents themselves, whether or not pecuniary. Presumably career enhancement is a benefit; and presumably a suitably structured argument could be made that a benefit to a third party, the US, would also be an enabling benefit, for kidnap definition purposes.

In the UK, of course, none of this would matter our own dear Neo-Labour would never presume to ask our beloved US overlords to extradite their citizens to Blighty. The converse, as Mckinnon is finding out, is not true. Thanks to dear Brown-nosing war criminal Tony Blair, UK citizens will find themselves extradited to the US for practically anything and without anyone having to prove there was any serious allegation at all.