Wednesday, January 15, 2003

President Faults Race Preferences as Admission Tool. President Bush said his administration would file a brief with the Supreme Court, opposing affirmative action admissions policies at the University of Michigan. [New York Times] Duration of Republican party's new commitment to civil rights: two weeks. While I concede that not everyone (and probably not even a majority) who opposes affirmative action is racist, this is clearly a play to keep the wing of the party represented by Trent Lott's statements on Strom Thurmond happy. Remember, this is the same President who had no problems going to Bob Jones University during his campaign and thereby tacitly endorsing their prohibition on interracial dating. It's the Republican party's dirty little secret: talk like you're a party of the 21st century when it comes to issues of race, but act like you're a party of the early 20th. It's time for the dirty little secret to end. If the Republicans are going to oppose affirmative action, then they need to give us a counter proposal which ensures that underrepresented minority groups are given the same opportunities white folks have had since they settled in North America. It's a shame that Mr. Bush chose Dr. King's birthday to encourage the Supreme Court to take several steps away him his dream.   10:48:23 PM

Death, terror in N. Korea slave camps "I was in prison from 1987 till January 1993," she told NBC News in Seoul, where she now lives. "[The women] were forced to abort their children. They put salty water into the pregnant women’s womb with a large syringe, in order to kill the baby even when the woman was 8 months or 9 months pregnant. "And then, from time to time there a living infant is delivered. And then if someone delivers a live infant, then the guards kick the bloody baby and kill it. And I saw an infant who was crying with pain. I have to express this in words, that I witnessed such an inhumane hell." [ MSNBC ] Once again, we are reminded of the blackness that is the human heart. I can only pray that God would judge the evil regime in North Korea and cause its collapse from within, so that its people could be freed without being subjected to even more suffering in war.   4:48:16 PM

Downside to Digital Rights Pact?. "They are trying to take the legislative process out of the legislature and put it in the hands of a few industry groups," Seltzer said. "There's a lot of public debate that has to go on and we do need Congress to step in and undo the mess that has been created by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act." [Wired News] Once again, the customer is sold down the river by big business. This agreement simply opens the door for private industry groups to decide how we will access content, with no input from the public to determine what is in the public interest. It is yet another step towards the DRM future in which: You don't own the content you buy, you are merely renting. The media companies can revoke your rental license whenever they feel like it (for example, if you speak out against DRM). You no longer have fair use rights. The only use rights you have are those explicitly granted by the media companies. If you attempt to circumvent the DRM system for the sake of exercising your fair use rights, you will be sent to prison (even if it's for personal use).   12:23:32 PM

Justices Uphold Copyrights in a Victory for Walt Disney. The Supreme Court today upheld copyrights designed to protect the profits of songs, books and cartoon characters. [New York Times] The Public Domain is officially dead. And with it, the future of creativity in the United States. Congress has proven that it will always extend copyright when the media companies' money talks. We can expect them to extend it again in sixteen years when Mickey Mouse and other copyrights are threatened with entry into the public domain again. More outrage: Dan Gillmor, Lawrence Lessig. Several more via Slashdot.   12:08:59 PM