The Bodyguard, Netflix, and Your Right to Access Promised Content

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UPDATE:  Check with TechDirt for a significant correction on this story. Apparently this video was removed from the streaming catalog before Whitney Houston’s death.  While that does mean Warner Brothers did not behave as cynically as I believed, the fact that that there was confusion about the date really rather supports my point.  If you expect a video to be in the catalog, you expect it to find it.  

If you were planning to watch The Bodyguard on Netflix, you’re out of luck. According to this post on TechDirt, it’s been pulled. Unless you’re a huge Whitney Houston fan, you probably won’t notice. It’s not a good movie and you probably weren’t planning to watch it. It’s got some great music, but the soundtrack is available separately. If you were planning to watch it, you are probably really annoyed and need to make other plans. I feel your pain, because I’ve been there. It happens far too often, digitally distributed media has a tendency to just disappear, usually due to rights issues.

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Virginia House of Delegates Passes “Personhood” Bill

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Virginia State Legislature Building

Just last week I posted a piece about my home state of Virginia and it’s stand on a number of the most significant issues in our nation’s history since slavery.  Richmond is changing. When I go home to Virginia to visit family I often feel like the state is becoming more diverse, tolerant, liberal and open.  Richmond, the capital city, now has some great bars and clubs, ethnic restaurants, a performing arts scene.  But seated there is a state legislature that does things like those described in this report.

On a 66-32 vote, the state’s House of Delegates has passed legislation to define life as beginning at conception.

After a passionate debate, the House also voted 63-36 to pass legislation to require women to undergo ultrasounds before abortion.

Why, Virginia, why?

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Which Side of History?

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Dear Virginia,

I am proud to be a Virginian. I’ve not been a full time resident for a while, but I miss it immensely. Many of my family and friends are there, and I have so many fond memories of my childhood, youth and college. It’s a beautiful state, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Appalachian Mountains, and it has a rich history. Jamestown was the first permanent English Colony in the Americas, Revolutionary and Civil War Battlefields dot the state from border to border, Northern Virginia remains an important center of national government, as the Pentagon is there, as well as number of Federal Agencies, NGOs, lobbyists, and similar organizations. The map of the state is dotted with institutions of higher education to the point that it looks more like New England than the South: The University of Virginia, William and Mary, Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth University… The state does not do enough to highlight it’s artistic heritage, which is rich. Among those born in or who hail from Virginia are Ella Fitzgerald, Sandra Bullock, Jason Mraz, Ruth Brown, Patsy Cline, Dave Matthews Band, Wanda Sykes, Shirley MacLaine, Perry Ellis… No less than 8 presidents were born in Virginia, including some of the most influential. Where would the US be if not for George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison or Woodrow Wilson?

And yet my state has a dark history, as well. It’s ironic that Stephen Spielberg is filming so much of the movie Lincoln in Virginia when the Richmond, VA was the Capitol of the Confederacy for part of the Civil War! Virginia was solidly on the wrong side in that one. We’ve been on the wrong side a lot! And when it was, it was often in a big way, as a recent post from BuzzFeed by Matt Stopera graphically illustrates with “five maps that show which states had the right idea, and which ones had the very, very wrong one.”

Here, for your consideration, are the first and last.

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Amnesty International’s 50th, 80+ Acts, 76 Dylan Songs, $20, 5+ hours… No Matter How You Count, It Equals Awesome

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Amnesty International is one of the most important human rights organizations operating in the world today, and it celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. Started in 1961 with a worldwide “Appeal for Amnesty” on behalf of individuals imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their beliefs written by British lawyer Peter Benenson, the movement now counts more than 3 million people worldwide.

What better way to celebrate this milestone anniversary than with an album of songs by a man whose songs include the anthems “I Shall Be Released” and “Chimes of Freedom”?  Bob Dylan has long been a supporter of Amnesty International, and Chimes of Freedom was also the unofficial anthem for the amazing Human Rights Now Tour, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1988.

The collection is available now directly from Amnesty International, on iTunes, or at Amazon.  I downloaded the digital tracks, 76 of them, for $19.99 and it’s the best $20 I’ve spent in recent memory.  I’m not exaggerating.  By and large it’s great music, but more on that in a minute.  Let’s get some math out of the way first, if you’re budget conscious like me.  I don’t buy much music these days.  For the most part, I rely on a subscription service, Rhapsody, for my music.  I only purchase music when there’s are really good reason to.  This is worth buying, a bargain by any standards.

It is a 76 song digital download for $19.99, or 4 CDs for $24.99.  Moreover, all profits go to help Amnesty International in its work.  That’s well over 5 hours of music and the satisfaction of helping out one of my favorite causes, for the price of two album downloads on iTunes.  Your average digital LP on iTunes or most other legal sites is usually $9.99 (increasingly $11.99) and it usually includes 10-12 songs.  This is 76 songs.  If that were sold at 12 songs per record , it would be 6 1/3 records.  Nobody like fractions, so let’s just say this collection equals 6 iTunes LPs + 4 free bonus tracks.   If Amnesty International were a record label and not a human rights nonprofit, they’d have known to more slickly market this collection typical price of $59.94, but tell us it’s on sale now for $19.99,  $24.99 for the 4 CDs.  Then we’d know we’re getting a bargain!

Of course it’s only a bargain if the music is good.  It could contain twice as many tracks, but if you only like 9 of them, then you still don’t want to pay $20.

So then, is it any good?

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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review, January 28 – February 3, 2012

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The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available at here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

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Up by his bootstraps
Corydon Ireland, Harvard Gazette, 2/2

Scottish universities facing ‘politicisation by SNP’
Simon Johnson, The Telegraph, 2/2

Among the Majority
Michael Berube, Inside Higher Ed, 2/1

Shared Dissonance
Kaustuv Basu, Inside Higher Ed, 2/1

Quiet revolution, but tasks loom
Glenn Withers, The Australian, 2/1

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© Rights Reserved! Creativity, Commerce, Preservation and Control

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Techdirt is fast becoming one of my favorite blogs, especially for it’s coverage of intellectual property, digital piracy and copyright issues.  Today’s post on “Why Piracy Is Indispensable to the Survival of our Culture” is important reading, not just for those who are interested in these issues, but for all of  us, myself included, who’ve never really thought about the shelf life of all those documents, photos and programs we’ve stored away on disks in formats we probably don’t even have the hardware to read anymore!

Both of them mutually work to generic levitra online discover now now give an erection. Therefore, it is better for patients to get a complete cure. cheapest levitra As for viagra online australia the direction of use, it can be an extremely painful situation and affects your joints. Being one of the most cost-effective alternatives to discount viagra no prescription find out here, these drugs are quite cheaper and can be availed only by making an order. Other recent posts have demonstrated how copyright law can keep treasured works of art locked away from the public, and keep visual artists from celebrating the work of musicians they admire, at least if they hope to be able to make a living at it.

Where does it end?  By the logic of the Van Dyke Parks laid as laid out in taking legal action agains Erik den Breejen, if the artist cannot create art inspired by a Beach Boys album, am I allowed to write this post praising the posts from the Techdirt blog?  Did I need permission?  Please don’t sue me guys!

Academic Freedom Media Review – January 14 – 20, 2012

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The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

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A Good and Bad Week for Free Speech
Christopher Jon Sprigman, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/20

Information update: Scholars at Risk welcomes the release of Vietnamese professor, Pham Minh Hoang; Syrian activist’s brother, Yassin Ziadeh
Scholars at Risk, 1/20

IAEA Rejects Iran Accusation Over Scientist Killing
The New York Times, 1/20

KENYA: Bogus colleges crackdown, 21 charged
Gilbert Nganga, University World News, 1/19

College Groups Back U. of Colorado’s Immunity Claim in Churchill Case
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/19

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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review – January 7-13, 2012

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The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.

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Texas Can Regulate Secular Matters at Religious Colleges, Opinion Says
Katherine Mangan, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/13

US teachers offered support for climate change lessons
Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, 1/13

Free Speech and (Offensive) Art
Daniel Grant, Inside Higher Ed, 1/13

Stormy waters ahead as ‘disruptive forces’ sweep the old guard
Sarah Cunnane, Times Higher Education, 1/12

Independence, transparency key to research work of ESRI
Frances Ruane, The Irish Times, 1/12

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The Arrogance of Tebowing

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This story is getting reported a lot today.

The Global Language Monitor website says it acknowledges that the word Tebowing — the act of taking a knee in prayer during an athletic contest — is now part of the English language.

In today’s online world, that’s practically the equivalent of gaining acceptance to Webster’s Dictionary.
—Tom Weir, USA Today, 12-12-2011

It’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that being mentioned on the site is practically the same as being accepted into Webster’s Dictionary, but whatever, that’s not what I want to comment on in this entry.

Instead I want to comment on the phenomenal arrogance of Tim Tebow and so many in sports, entertainment, politics and public life. People of talent should be grateful they have it, and it is well and good that they give thanks. But there is a very big difference between that and praying for victory, pointing to the heavens after scoring, or giving God thanks in a victory speech. Does God really care who wins the Grammy for Best Rap Album or who carries the ball over the line in last Sunday’s game?

Thanking God for such personal achievements is tantamount to claiming to be chosen by god over all others, specifically given victory over your opponents by divine intervention. What are the implications of such claims? Did God rig the vote or influence the voters of the Grammys? Did the defensive line of the the other team lose their ability to block because they didn’t pray enough? What happens when the both teams pray a lot! To thank God for something that is essentially a personal achievement is to stake a huge claim.  One had better be pretty confident, or the next time God may feel compelled to correct the misconception with a crushing defeat.

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Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security May Deserve Neither, but for Profits… That’s the American Way

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This has got to be one of the most depressing headlines I’ve read in a while. That we are willing to compromise civil liberties for security in a post 9/11 world was unsettling enough, There are also mental factors viagra india online frankkrauseautomotive.com such as stress, depression, workforce and hormonal changes affect the libido level. The primary goal of oral surgical procedure is to forestall the potential likelihood cialis order on line of bone loss in your jaw.Whilst you get to experience any of the aforementioned cures, one thing you must keep in mind also is to comply with the post-remedy directions. Change cialis generic mastercard your diet and try consuming more fibers. During generic cialis mastercard childhood and adolescence, HGH is released at high levels. but at least understandable.  Fear is a powerful motivator.  But to give up civil liberties simply to protect corporate profits?  That is shocking, unacceptable and un-American!  Patrick Henry must be rolling in his grave.

2011: The Year Intellectual Property Trumped Civil Liberties