RIAA vs the People

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Lawyers representing people who have been sued by the RIAA started a blog:

We are lawyers in New York City. We practice law at Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP.

Through the Electronic Frontier Foundation we and our firm have undertaken to represent people in our area who have been sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for having computers whose internet accounts were used to open up peer-to-peer file sharing accounts.

We find these cases to be oppressive and unfair, as large law firms financed by the recording industry sue ordinary working people for thousands of dollars.

We have set up this blog in order to collect evidence and input about these oppressive lawsuit.

Small Town USA may be an alternative to Offshore Outsourcing

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ABC News:

The rural town of Sebeka, population 710, is not exactly Silicon Valley. It’s hardly the place computer programmer Dave La Reau expected to find employment.

La Reau, who had been job hunting for years, answered a help wanted ad from CrossUSA — one of a half dozen companies actively recruiting workers to small towns in at least eight states.

He traded his suburban home for a 7-acre farm at a fraction of the price. But La Reau is making half of what he earned in Chicago — before outsourcing put his small company out of business.

“I’m hooked up to the computer in Baltimore,” La Reau said while working. “I’ve got the same screen they have.”

All the more reason for Madison to get serious about true broadband service. We’re behind the curve… Slashdot discussion.

One of World’s Most Prolific Spammers Arrested

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Chris Williams:

A Minnesota man considered one of the world’s most prolific e-mail spammers was indicted on more than a dozen federal charges related to the operation of his business, Xpress Pharmacy Direct.

The indictment against Christopher William Smith, 25, was unsealed Wednesday after he was arrested at his home in Prior Lake. Dr. Philip Mach, 47, of Franklin Park, N.J., and Bruce Jordan Lieberman, 45, from Farmingdale, N.Y., were also charged in the indictment, federal prosecutors said.

Slashdot discussion.

Senator Herb Kohl’s Re-Election Website Debut

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We can hope for competition in the 2006 Senate race. Kohl has cast a number of anti-Wisconsin votes recently. Ideally, his opponent(s) will ask some questions. The usually reliable (for Herb Kohl) Capital Times recently criticized his support of the latest energy bill disaster. Joel McNally earlier asked why the Wisconsin Press gives Kohl a pass?

My own view is that after three terms, it is time for the good Senator to move on. He’s clearly become part of the club, with all of the trappings and required votes.

My favorite Kohl vote? “Present” on a large corporation tax giveaway. Why can’t the rest of us have a 5% tax rate?

www.herbkohl.com. WisPolitics announcement (PDF).

BioBelt Could Be Wisconsin’s Future

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BioBelt Could Be Wisconsin’s Future
By converting its energy-rich organic wastes into heat and electricity, Wisconsin could become the capital of the Midwestern BioBelt. That is the assessment of bioenergy experts who are planning the Renewable Energy from Organics Recycling conference at the Madison Marriott West from September 12 through September 14.

(more…)

ATC on Armstrong’s 1999 Tour Blood Test

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All Things Considered:

The French daily sports newspaper L’Equipe reported Tuesday that six urine samples taken from U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong during the 1999 Tour de France have recently tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug EPO, or erithropoietin. Armstrong won the Tour de France in 1999, the first of a record seven straight titles. Melissa Block talks to Charles Pelkey of the magazine Velo News.

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