Monday, July 31, 2006
Illegal downloads create unlikely defendants
Kathy Hartness is a 47-year-old grandmother, churchgoer and gardener who had never been in trouble with the law -- until she was served with papers in June for something she did more than a year ago. She is one of three Kentuckians sued so far this year by national recording companies for violating copyrights by illegally downloading and sharing songs and music videos off the Internet. Hartness, a Louisville resident, and her teenage daughter downloaded music -- such as Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" and Alabama's "Dixieland" -- after a friend told them about KaZaA. It's a peer-to-peer -- or P2P -- Internet sharing network that lets people download music and other material from another member's computer for free. Hartness stopped a year ago, after news stories reporting that 11 Kentuckians had been sued for illegal sharing and downloading. But it was too late. The recording companies were already tracking her down. "I really didn't know I was doing anything wrong …" Hartness said. "When they say that 4 million people are on there (KaZaA), it must be OK, or why would there be so many people on there?"
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Mel Gibson's proves hes a racest
JEWISH leaders have been horrified by a drunken outburst from Hollywood superstar Mel Gibson, blaming the Jews "for all the wars in the world". Australia's most famous actor allegedly unleashed an extraordinary anti-Semitic rant after he was arrested for speeding and drink-driving in Los Angeles on Friday night. According to leaked police documents, he peppered a sheriff's deputy with remarks about "f...ing Jews" and a declaration that "the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world". He then asked the arresting officer, Deputy James Mee, "Are you a Jew?" U.S. Jewish leader Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said it seemed that liquor and the arrest had revealed Gibson's "true character". "We believe there should be consequences to bigots and bigotry," Mr Foxman said. "One way to combat bigots is to put a price on bigotry. I would hope that if this is, in fact, true, that his colleagues condemn him and distance themselves from him." The Oscar-winning actor and director, a fundamentalist Christian, long has been dogged by accusations of harbouring anti-Jewish sentiments and of playing down the Holocaust.
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Residents in Phoenix on watch for 2 serial killers
With two serial killers on the loose in Phoenix, Marnie Reiher knows she should stay off her front porch. She shouldn't answer the door. And if the cats sneak out at night, she should leave them on their own till morning.
"But then I'd be giving in," said Reiher, 36, who refuses to hunker down even though she lives a few blocks from where one of the killers struck. "I'd be imprisoning myself."
It is a common feeling in this city of 1.5 million, where gunmen have randomly shot dozens of people since May 2005, killing 13. While many still shutter themselves inside their homes, a growing number have decided to fight back.
They are patrolling their neighborhoods at night, cell phones and emergency whistles in hand. Some have started new block watch groups, while others have donned the red berets and white T-shirts of the Guardian Angels, who are starting a chapter here.
At community meetings, women remind each other of the safety advice they heard while growing up: Squeeze a car key between your fingers and you have a knife. Wear your purse in the front so someone can't strangle you with the strap. Keep your head up. Make eye contact. Kick him in the groin.
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PUT MY BOOBS ON MY BANK CARD
A BANK has been flooded with saucy snaps from customers wanting to reveal all on their cash cards. Account holders have been sending revealing shots to Lloyds TSB Scotland. The cheeky move came after account holders were offered the chance to have any picture they wanted put on to their bank card. The scheme allows customers to get pictures of wives, husbands, partners, children or pets printed on their cards. But some have been bombarding the bank with requests to use intimate pictures. Some women account holders even wanted to have topless images of themselves. Last night, Lloyds TSB product manager Tricia Moore said: "We are all about people feeling like individuals when they bank with us. "And what better way to do that than having cards as unique as they are with a picture of something meaningful?
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Beer Bottle Organ
Made by Peterson Tuners, yes, the sound is actually produced by blowing air over the tops of real beer bottles. The bottles are filled or "tuned" using mineral oil, so it will not evaporate or change tunings during weather changes. It can be played with the organ keys, or by a MIDI device.
The Bottle Organ concept was first developed in the early 1800's
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Opera house encourages audience to smoke pot
A Berlin opera house is encouraging audience members to smoke cannabis joints during its latest production. The Neuköllner Opera House says it wants to enhance the psychedelic experience of Camille Saint-Saens' drug opera The Oriental Princess. The actors themselves will also smoke pot onstage while the audience mellow out in the stalls, reports DW-Worldl. Artistic director Bernhard Glocksin maintains that the opera experience will be "improved with a few joints" while the opera house asserts that artistic license will protect it from drug laws. "It's a test to see just what we can get away with," Glocksin said. In Berlin, possession of anything up to 10 grams of cannabis is considered to be "for personal use" and is often overlooked. But smoking it in public places can be interpreted by law as an offence against the German constitution.
Spam Radio
Spamradio is a non-profit making project which is focussed on turning spam (junk) email into an Internet audio broadcast.
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Metallica catalog hits iTunes
Longtime digital music holdouts, who waged a public battle with Napster in 2000, jump into the digital music fray. Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich was once the poster child for the record industry's opposition to digital music technologies, particularly those that allowed users to download free music from the likes of the former Napster. Today, with both the illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing services Napster spawned and Apple's legal download store iTunes thriving, Metallica joined the digital music fray, licensing its entire back catalog to iTunes. "From the 'It's about f***ing time!' file, comes this," the band said in announcing the move. "Over the last year or so, we have seen an ever-growing number of Metallica fans using online sites like iTunes to get their music. So...we are now offering fans the opportunity to obtain our songs individually." Metallica's move to digital sales, and a move by Detroit rocker Bob Seger earlier this month, leaves only a few holdouts, most notably the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Radiohead. The Beatles and its Apple Corps record company have engaged in a long standoff with Apple over the use of the apple logo and Apple's ability to sell music. A British court ruled in favor of Apple in that dispute in May.
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Man charged with setting girlfriend on fire
A woman doused with gasoline and set afire allegedly by her boyfriend was hospitalized in stable condition Sunday, authorities said.
Freda Edwards, 39, is being treated in the Washington Hospital Center's burn unit for second- and third-degree burns to her face, neck and upper body.
According to police investigators, Anthony Willoughby, 40, a self-employed landscaper, took the fuel tank off of a gasoline-powered weed trimmer and doused Edwards with the fuel before setting her ablaze around 3 a.m. Saturday.
"We're not sure whether he poured it on her or threw it at her," said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a Prince George's County police spokesman.
Police said the two had argued before the attack. Edwards earlier obtained a restraining order against Willoughby, but visited him late Friday night at his home in Hyattsville.
Edwards ran to her family's Hyattsville home after the attack, where a relative placed a 911 emergency call
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Monday Mugshot Al Pacino
New Yorker Al Pacino, famous for “The Godfather,” did more than just “act” like a gun toting gangster. In 1961, at the age of 21, Pacino was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. Charges were later dropped and rumor has it Pacino claimed he was en route to an acting gig and was to use the gun for the skit. His mug shot looks as if it came straight out of one of his movies