Is a mining company giving the shaft to farmers and ranchers?

05-04-2011 • Farm Wars

Mining companies are buying up ranches left and right, just to get the water rights then change the use from irrigation to mining.

FBI vs. Coreflood Botnet: Round 1 Goes to the Feds

04-26-2011 • Kim Zetter via WIRED.com

The FBI’s unprecedented effort to behead the Coreflood botnet. The bureau has tracked a dramatic decline in the number of pings from the botnet since the takedown operation began earlier this month.

The Great California Water Swindle and Property Grab

04-26-2011 • Farm Wars

The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) has decided to re-interpret the Lake and Streambed Alteration Program (DFG code, section 1600) to include the normal use of water as a “permitable” action.

ACLU to Michigan Cops: Stop Searching Phones on Traffic Stops

04-20-2011 • Boing Boing / Cory Doctorow

Michigan troopers use Cellebrite UFE that slurps up dialled numbers, SMSes, Facebook/Twitter posts, emails, bookmarks, Web history, cookies, notes, MMS, IMs, lists of recent Bluetooth devices, journeys, GPS fixes, call logs, and a list of your contac

US lawmakers target ‘rogue websites’ with online infringement act

04-06-2011 • AFP

Democratic and Republican members of the US Congress pledged Monday to pass legislation that would give US authorities more tools to crack down on websites engaged in piracy of movies, television shows and music and the sale of counterfeit goods.

Zite news app accused of copyright infringement

03-31-2011 • AFP

The Washington Post, Dow Jones, Time and other news organizations accused iPad news reader Zite of copyright infringement and told the startup to stop displaying their articles. "The Zite application is plainly unlawful," [it's not]

RIAA Thinks LimeWire Owes $75 Trillion in Damages

03-27-2011 • PC World

The music industry wants LimeWire to pay up to $75 trillion in damages after losing a copyright infringement claim. That's right . . . $75 trillion. Manhattan federal Judge Kimba Wood has labeled this request "absurd. To put that number into perspect

'Anonymous' takes down UK Copyright Service website

03-25-2011 • Rawstory

The decentralized community of hacktivists known as "Anonymous" knocked the website of the UK Copyright Service offline. The copyright protection agency, known internationally as Copyright Witness, was targeted by a distributed denial of service (DDo

Have Media Companies Destroyed Their Copyrights With The ‘Share’ Button?

03-22-2011 • Joe Mullin

Righthaven has become controversial by taking a sue-first-ask-questions-later approach to copyright enforcement on behalf of its newspaper clients, which include MediaNews Group as well as the smaller chain that owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Mo

White House wants new copyright law crackdown

03-16-2011 • Declan McCullagh (CNET)

The White House today proposed sweeping revisions to U.S. copyright law, including making "illegal streaming" of audio or video a federal felony and allowing FBI agents to wiretap suspected infringers.

Monsanto Shifts ALL Liability to Farmers

02-21-2011 • Farm Wars

Monsanto does not accept liability for damages from genetically modified crops by shifting it to the farmer, and requires the purchaser of a farmer's land to sign a Monsanto Technology Use Agreement.

MERS takes a hit in N.Y.

02-13-2011 • The Hallmark Abstract Sentinel

While this decision does not help Ms. Agard (due to Res judicata) it does seriously call into question the validity of MERS assigning mortgages on behalf of its members/lenders. These are some excerpts from the decision which can be read in its en

Sony PS3 Hacker To Argue That He 'Re-Enabled' Feature

01-16-2011 • PC Magazine

In a statement, the lawyers indicated that they will try to argue that a user has the right to use the PlayStation 3 has he or she sees fit, rather than be subject to the ongoing control of the manufacturer.

Swiss village: pay your dog tax or Fido gets it

01-10-2011 • AP

A law from 1904 allows the village to kill dogs if its owner does not pay the canine charge. "This isn't about a mass execution of dogs," [local terrorcrat] said. "It's meant to put pressure on people who don't cooperate."

Aftershocks: Welcome to Haiti's Reconstruction Hell

01-03-2011 • Mother Jones / Mac McClelland

Dispatches from the tent cities, where rape gangs and disaster profiteers roam.

Minnesota Tenants Challenge Nosy Housing Inspectors

01-01-2011 • Reason / Jacob Sullum

"Under Red Wing's rental inspection ordinance," I.J. notes, "it is easier for the government to force its way into the homes of law-abiding citizens than it is to search the home of a suspected criminal."

The First Rule of the War on Drugs is DON’T TALK ABOUT THE WAR ON DRUGS

01-01-2011 • Popehat

This is not a happy story. This is a story where the bad guys win. This is a story where censorship and thuggery — where those who think the government should be able to control criticism — triumph.

Don't Touch My - Acreage - Massive Land Grab By Senate Dems Underway In Lame Duck

12152010 • www.drscoundrels.com

Information about a bill being snuck through by Dirty Harry Reid as well as information on another major land grab in the Chesapeake Bay Initiative - including background info from two sources on how this works and what it entails. Remember that the

A Lawyer’s Advice/Guidance/Assistance Requested

12-02-2010 • Christine Smith's Blog

Can you help? Please read my blog about this matter. Thank you.

EU Parliament Approves Once-secret ACTA Copyright Treaty

11-24-2010 • PC World

After 11 rounds of international negotiations, the final text of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has overcome its biggest hurdle yet when it was welcomed as a step in the right direction by the European Parliament, which

Harsh Digital Copyright Bill Stopped -- for Now

11-22-2010 • PC World

A single senator stalled a bill that would give the government the ability to shut down websites allegedly participating in copyright infringement. It will trample free-speech rights and give the government the ability to censor controversial website

‘Copyright troll’ Righthaven looks to dismiss suit against Democratic Underground

11-17-2010 • Rawstory

Citing "the spirit of judicial economy," Righthaven, LLC., a company that makes its money by forcing settlements through copyright lawsuits, said it wanted to drop its claim against a liberal forum community which it sued over a four-paragraph excerp

1.5-million-dollar verdict in US music piracy case

11-05-2010 • AFP

A US jury has ordered a woman to pay $1.5 million dollars for illegally downloading 24 songs in a high-profile digital piracy case. A single mother of 4, was found liable by a jury of copyright infringement for downloading 24 songs over the Internet.

YouTube wins piracy case against Spanish TV

09-23-2010 • AFP

"YouTube is not a supplier of content and therefore has no obligation to control ex-ante the illegality of those" who log on to its site. "Its only obligation is to cooperate with the holders of the rights in order to immediately withdraw the content

Ground Zero Muslim Center May Get Public Financing

08-28-2010 • Reuters via DrudgeReport.com

The Muslim center planned near the site of the World Trade Center attack could qualify for tax-free financing, a spokesman for City Comptroller John Liu said on Friday...

Phx. council thugs vote to steal Pioneer Village from the party that out-bid them for it

08-20-2010 • www.azcentral.com

Eric Roles bid $10,000 more for the 92 acres from the state than did Phoenix. Phoenix demanded Eric sell to them at cost, for no gain. Negotiations ensued. Now, Phoenix is done playing, and the ass-whooping begins.

One of the things that perpetually frightens me about America is the unreasoning ability of our people to continually wave off things that are right in our faces – to just believe in the better side of people – even politicians. “They wouldn’t do tha

Quebec man loses fight to keep home above gold mine

08-04-2010 • CTV News

A man who literally lives on a gold mine has been ordered by a Quebec judge to leave his home. A Superior Court judge awarded Osisko Mining Corp. possession of Masse's home after the company requested an emergency court decision.