Here’s The Onion’s infographic on the RIAA crackdown.

Although the news cycle might be over, I thought I might weigh in on the heinous murder of Saddam’s two sons by U.S. forces. I believe that assassinating two political leaders instead of capturing them and charging them with crimes was a mistake, not to mention that the death of Saddam’s innocent grandson seems to have been accepted as a reasonable casualty. The refusal of the U.S. to participate in any sort of multilateral process of adjudication to me is a grave failure of the global community. It seems to me the just path for a myriad of reasons - legal, ethical, and otherwise.

Resorting to political assassination of the type followed with gusto by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq not only shows an arrogant disregard for international law, but also wastefully throws away an opportunity to further bolster the machinery of international justice. (Not that anybody in the U.S. government seems interested in that vague idea these days) I myself relish the thought that Milosevic languishes in a European cell while his horrible acts as Serbia’s ruler are meticulously documented before he will receive a prison sentence of ridiculous length. However, by brazenly refusing to subject any Afghanis or Iraqis to similar treatment, the U.S. is only showing they are just as much a thug as some of the people they have murdered, or decide to detain indefinitely in Camp X-Ray. (A group of sickly and elderly old men, some in their 80s, were released a few months ago from that facility after the Bush administration was forced to conclude they were 100% innocent)

Articles of note:

> DetNews: “Downtown attracts more retailers”
> DetNews: “Downtown Detroit draws housing”
> AP: “Librarians nationwide chafe under Patriot Act”

Thanks to work by some of the fine people at the University of California - Berkeley, the origins of political conservatism are finally being probed:

“Four researchers who culled through 50 years of research literature about the psychology of conservatism report that at the core of political conservatism is the resistance to change and a tolerance for inequality, and that some of the common psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:

* Fear and aggression
* Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
* Uncertainty avoidance
* Need for cognitive closure
* Terror management”

> See “Researchers help define what makes a political conservative”

The American Civil Liberties Union recently announced the first-ever legal challenge of a provision of the U.S.A. Patriot act that allows federal authorities to demand individuals turn over “any tangible thing” without a warrent, and in total secrecy. The suit is let by attorneys from the Michigan state office. From their press release:

“Ordinary Americans should not have to worry that the FBI is rifling through their medical records, seizing their personal papers, or forcing charities and advocacy groups to divulge membership lists,” said Ann Beeson, Associate Legal Director of the ACLU and the lead attorney in the lawsuit.

As at similar events around the country, protesters are expected at the forum. The ACLU will also hold a media availability outside the forum venue featuring one of the litigators in the PATRIOT lawsuit and members of the state affiliate. Michigan Rep. John Conyers (D) - one of the main opponents of the Justice Department’s expanded surveillance and enforcement powers — will also be present.

> ACLU PR: “ACLU Files First-Ever Challenge to USA PATRIOT Act, Citing Radical Expansion of FBI Powers”
> AP: “ACLU, community groups challenge Patriot Act surveillance”

The Downtown Development Authority is considering improvements to Huron street, Fifth Avenue, and Division, including “bike lanes, art sculptures and trees” by commissioning a $500,000 study. I applaud their initiative, but it seems secretive - the Ann Arbor News must concede “details are sketchy.” I believe planning of this sort comes out best when the most community members - especially the people who actually use the street - have input. However, the DDA is quasi-private, and can commission expensive private studies with taxpayer money without citizen oversight. That matter aside, here are my suggestions: a tree-lined median with broad crosswalks and benches, parking along both sides (to slow traffic and make pedestrians feel safer), and wider, well-lit sidewalks.

> “DDA: Streets in need of makover”

This was sent to my by my friend Adam Konner, and I thought it made a lot of sense so I decided to post it here …

Boycott the Recording Industry

“The RIAA has issued at least 911 subpoenas so far, according to court records. Lawyers have said they expect to file at least several hundred lawsuits within eight weeks, and copyright laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song.

“If they end up picking on individuals who are perceived to be grandmothers or junior high students who have only downloaded in isolated incidents, they run the risk of a backlash,” said Christopher Caldwell, a lawyer in Los Angeles who works with major studios and the Motion Picture Association of America.”

The recent actions of the Recording Industry Association of America completely baffle me. Do they really expect that they are going to improve their business by suing their own customers? It seems to me that the only reasonable way to respond to this is to boycott the recording industry. This means, simply, don’t buy any albums in the stores. If you want a new album, find a friend who has it and copy it, get it directly from the artist, or, if it remains possible, try to download it from the internet or from a private network.

The victims of a boycott of this hopelessly corrupt industry would be almost exclusively record companies. Musicians get an oppressively small percentage of album sales. It is common knowledge that musicians don’t get rich from album sales, but from concert tickets.

The RIAA contends that internet music sharing is responsible for the fact that music sales have greatly fallen in the past few years. But the past few years have been the midst of a recession. Music is a luxury, one of the first things people will stop buying if they are in financial trouble. The fact is, music sales boomed during the time that Napster was fully functional, and it was only after the RIAA killed Napster that sales began to decline.

In addition to all this, CD’s have always been vastly overpriced. CD technology has been available for two decades, and it now costs far less to make a CD than it ever did to make a cassette tape. Despite this, CD’s started out costing about 50% more than tapes, and instead of getting cheaper as the technology improved, CD’s have been gradually getting more and more expensive over the years. Add this to the oppressively small percentage of album sales afforded to artists, and it becomes clear that a boycott of the recording industry has been ripe for a long time.

The RIAA is missing the point here, and missing a great opportunity. Ever since the beginning of the World Wide Web, countless services and sources of
information have been provided free, funded by advertising. There is no reason internet music sharing cannot function the same way. Instead of fighting this inevitable trend, the RIAA should be embracing it.

Adam Konner