Obama walks a thin line on SOPA (Politico)

The White House waded into the red-hot online piracy debate with a statement Saturday that won't satisfy either side.

In a blog post penned by three administration officials, the White House said it opposes any bill that would make it easier for government to censor the Web or make the Internet less secure, but it stopped short of saying whether that includes two bills that have sent the tech industry into a panic.

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If that sounds like a careful effort to walk a thin line, it is: Some of the president's biggest supporters in Hollywood and Silicon Valley and beyond are sharply divided over the bills, and the White House needs a way to keep both sides happy.

The Stop Online Piracy?Act in the House and Protect IP Act in the Senate are an attempt by business interests led by Hollywood to crack down on people pirating movies and music and stop the sale of knockoff goods.

But Web companies and Internet freedom activists have cried foul, saying the bills would put restrictions on the Web in a way that could destroy the fundamental openness of the Internet and prevent the next generation of Facebooks or eBays from getting off the ground.

And where President Barack Obama comes down has been closely watched ? because of his image as a technology guy, someone who harnessed the Web and young Internet users to win the presidency.

The administration did not take a definitive position on SOPA or PIPA on Saturday. But it was clear that the White House ? while calling pirated movies and knockoff pharmaceuticals on the Web "a real problem" in need of a legislative solution ? isn't enamored of either bill.

"While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet," the administration officials said. "Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small. "

The authors ? Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, OMB Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel and Howard Schmidt, special assistant to the president and cybersecurity coordinator for? National Security Staff ? called on the bills' opponents to do more than just fight the bills and to work on private solutions to piracy problems.

"This is not just a matter for legislation. We expect and encourage all private parties, including both content creators and Internet platform providers working together, to adopt voluntary measures and best practices to reduce online piracy," they wrote. "So, rather than just look at how legislation can be stopped, ask yourself: Where do we go from here? Don't limit your opinion to what's the wrong thing to do, ask yourself what's right. Already, many members of Congress are asking for public input around the issue. We are paying close attention to those opportunities, as well as to public input to the administration. "

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_71445_html/44179595/SIG=11m6uqaor/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71445.html

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Coast guard: ship aground off Italy, bodies found

ROME (AP) ? The Italian coast guard says a luxury cruise ship has run aground off the coast of Tuscany and that at least three bodies have been retrieved from the sea.

Cmdr. Francesco Paolillo told The Associated Press by telephone from the port city of Livorno early Saturday that there are "probably" at least three more dead, although he hasn't received confirmation of those three. He said helicopters are evacuating some 50 people still aboard the Costa Concordia liner near the Tuscan island of Giglio.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ROME (AP) ? The Italian news agency ANSA says a luxury cruise ship with 4,200 people aboard has run aground off the Tuscan coast and that at least 6 people have died.

The report early Saturday said the Costa Concordia ran aground a few hundred meters (yards) off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, and that the passengers were being evacuated.

A statement from Costa Cruises, the company that runs the ship, confirmed that the evacuation of the 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew had begun, "but the position of the ship which is worsening is making more difficult the last part of the evacuation."

Costa Cruises' statement did not mention any casualties, and said it had not yet determined the cause of the problem.

ANSA news agency quoted unidentified rescuers as saying six people were dead. ANSA quoted journalists who happened to be passengers aboard as telling ANSA that the evacuees were being sheltered in schools, hotels and a church on the vacation island.

Costa Cruises said the Costa Concordia was sailing on a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo.

It said about 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-13-EU-Italy-Cruise-Aground/id-a1f4cc35929a4173b4eee5fda7c62838

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Facebook launches real-time "Listen With Friends" music feature (Digital Trends)

Announced on the official Facebook blog earlier today, the social network is rolling out a ?Listen With Friends? feature that allows Facebook users to click a single button to sync up and listen to a song that a friend is currently enjoying. While the feature requires the user to authorize the?Spotify or Rdio application on the user?s Facebook profile prior to listening to the song, the track syncs at the same position as the friend and friends can chat about specific parts of the song. In order to identify Facebook users that are currently listening to music on Spotify or Rdio, a musical note icon will appear next to the name of the user in the chat interface as well as the real-time news ticker.?

Similar to the basic functionality of?Turntable.fm, Facebook users can act as a virtual DJ while choosing songs in the Spotify or Rdio interface. Up to 50 Facebook friends can listen at the same time as well as make comments about the songs and request upcoming tracks. When a user starts listening to a musical track through Spotify or Rdio, a one-sentence blurb also appears in the Facebook news ticker. Users have the ability to control who sees that they are listening to music as well as delete songs that they have previously listened to from the Facebook Timeline.

While many recording artists are currently?dissatisfied?with the amount of money made each time a user listens to a track through these streaming services,?implementing?this new function on Facebook with potentially one billion users this year clicking away will increase the volume rapidly. It will also encourage users to upgrade to premium listening plans on these streaming services after running out of free music listening time faster each month. Facebook has begun rolling out the new function to a handful of accounts and plans to complete the launch by early?February. ?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Spotify joins the apps business: unveils new music app platform

Facebook Music speculation: What we ?know? and what we want

How the Internet is reinventing music

Spotify adds Private Listening mode

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/digitalmusic/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120113/tc_digitaltrends/facebooklaunchesrealtimelistenwithfriendsmusicfeature

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Apple wants to be responsible, progress report details changes to worker conditions and environmental practices

Apple had a few issues with its suppliers this year and has published its annual Supplier Responsibility Progress Report today. The company has apparently schooled more than a million "supply chain employees" on rights and health and safety, while it has also began a specific environmental compliance program for some of its suppliers in China, having spotted several violations last year -- which it's now working on. Perhaps more interestingly, this notes the first time that Apple has revealed all 156 of its suppliers in full. The report (unsurprisingly) reads like exercise in backslapping, but if you're into that sort of thing, you can check the whole report at the source.

Update: MacRumors has published Tim Cook's team-wide email on the matter.

Apple wants to be responsible, progress report details changes to worker conditions and environmental practices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2fLl0G7qkYQ/

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Intel exploring ways to help Stephen Hawking speak (AP)

CAMBRIDGE, England ? Intel Corp. is looking for ways to help famed British physicist Stephen Hawking reverse the slowing of his speech, according to a senior executive with the American chipmaker.

Hawking was 21 when he was diagnosed Lou Gehrig's disease, an incurable degenerative disorder that has left him almost completely paralyzed. While an infrared sensor attached to his glasses translates the pulses in his right cheek into words spoken by a voice synthesizer, the nerves in his face have deteriorated and those close to him say his rate of speech has slowed to about a word a minute.

Speaking late Sunday on the sidelines of a conference celebrating Hawking's 70th birthday in the English city of Cambridge, Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner said his company had a team in England to explore ways to help the celebrity scientist communicate more quickly.

"This is a research project," Rattner told The Associated Press, saying the team's task was to gather data for further study.

Hawking has gained world renown as an expert on cosmology and the author of a best-selling series of books popularizing the field of theoretical astrophysics. His achievements have been all the more remarkable because of his condition. Most of those with Lou Gehrig's disease die within two to five years of their diagnosis, but Hawking has spent nearly half a century carrying out pioneering research work.

Finding ways to keep Hawking communicating has long been a challenge. Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, attacks the cells that control muscles ? leading to weakness, slurred speech and paralysis.

Hawking managed to overcome his deteriorating speech for a while by dictating scientific papers to a secretary, or speaking through an interpreter. He lost his voice entirely after a tracheotomy in 1985, and a computer was built to synthesize his speech in a distinctive, robotic monotone that has since become almost as famous as the scientist himself.

At first, Hawking retained some limited hand movement and could manage about 15 words a minute. Now that even the nerves in Hawking's cheek are beginning to fade, Rattner argued it was time for a new approach ? saying that solutions based on brainwaves or eye tracking were among the technologies being considered.

But Rattner said his best bet was on high definition cameras that pick up on the minute movements in Hawking's face to synthesize his speech.

"My wager is some form of facial feature recognition will unlock it for Stephen," he said.

Rattner did not give any specific timeframe for the company's work, and Intel didn't immediately respond to a request for further information.

The Santa Clara, California-based company has long provided Hawking with many of his technological needs ? including an upgrade of his speech software and the connection that links his wheelchair-mounted computer to the Internet.

___

Online:

Stephen Hawking's website: http://www.hawking.org.uk/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/semiconductor/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120109/ap_on_hi_te/eu_britain_stephen_hawking

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Doubts Grow over Greek Debt Restructuring

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Source: http://www.forexfactory.com/news.php?do=news&id=335553

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Ind. Law - Guns on campus and in State Office Bldg; golf carts on county roads

? Courts - In a number of states, "Legislators Are Out to Take Over Their State Judiciary Systems" | Main | Ind. Gov't. - Indiana Association of Cities and Towns focus of FWJG inquiry ?

Ind. Law - Guns on campus and in State Office Bldg; golf carts on county roads

Niki Kelly has a story today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on some of the bills introduced this session. A few quotes:

[Jim Banks, R-Columbia City] filed companion bills to allow guns to be carried on college campuses and some state properties.

?I don?t intend to scare people. We are talking about responsible gun owners who have a permit to carry a gun,? he said. ?I think it?s worth the debate.?

The campus-carry bill has gotten attention given recent campus shootings nationwide. But Banks contends none of those shootings has involved people with permits.

The second bill would dovetail onto a bill from last year prohibiting municipal restrictions on guns in city, county and other public buildings. As currently written, the bill would not allow guns in the Statehouse because there is a courtroom but would allow guns in the rest of the government-center campus. [ILB: See SB 180, Firearms on school property; SB 181, Possession of firearms on state property, including a state supported college or university] * * *

Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, wants to extend the ability of municipalities to authorize golf carts on their roads to unincorporated areas in the county.

?We accidentally left counties out,? he said.

The county sheriff would have to approve of such a move. State law requires the driver be licensed but local officials can add additional restrictions. Those on the golf carts can cross a state highway but not drive down it.

His legislation is House Bill 1013.

ILB: Well, counties were not exactly accidentally left out in the 2009 law. They were in. But in the 2009 special session that followed, a "surprise" amendment in the budget bill narrowed the application of the new law. For more on the ensuing problems, see this Aug. 5, 2009 entry headed "New golf cart law, as amended, may work a hardship on those outside Culver town limits," and this Aug. 9, 2009 entry headed "New golf cart laws may need corrective amendments."

A bill to remedy the situation was introduced in the 2010 session, but "Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Wyss wouldn't allow a vote on it," according to this March 18, 2010 entry, which concludes:

In short, the 2009 legislation included cities, towns, and counties. Wording slipped into the 2009 SS budget bill narrowed the exceptions for golf carts enacted during the regular session to golf carts operating under an authorizing municipal ordinance. This was one of the "budget bill surprises" - language very few knew about until long after the special session was over.

This is one example of how this practice, which subverts the legislative process, is often successful. The ILB will write shortly on the fate of several other 2009 "surprises", including restrictions on out-of-state placement of juveniles by judges, and the designation of the specific locations of certain local curb cuts by Indiana statute.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 8, 2012 11:15 AM
Posted to Indiana Law

Source: http://indianalawblog.com/archives/2012/01/ind_law_guns_on.html

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