Digital content copyright violation

I chose both the video “Video Pirates: The Bane of Hollywood” by 60 Minutes and the article “Copyright Neglected” by Newsweek because the problem of copyright concerns me directly – I consume digital content everyday. Really, I work in software domain, I use a variety of software at work, I chat with friends on my laptops and mobile phone, I watch movies, I listen to a music in the car and in the street (thanks to iPod). And this is really cool because I choose what and when I want to see and listen to.

On the other hand, there is a stumbling block, namely copyright law, that restricts the free use of digital content: images, sounds, videos and so on. The problem is very complex, and I doubt that we could find a comprehensive solution in the near future. At the same time, we can see some good consequences of the “consumers vs providers” battle.

Let's take a look at the musical industry. Hardly could we imagine yesterday that nowadays we would be downloading new albums of the most famous rock bands directly from the Internet for free! I am not talking about the piracy now: some pop stars, like Radiohead or George Michael, allow us to do it. It is legal and it is logic. The fact is that any digital content can be copied and transferred very easy. From my point of view, those musicians got the point and do not try to struggle against the stream but let the people do what they are doing actually. Where is their profit? If you like the product (music), you can pay as much as it is worth to you. Fair enough! This is exactly like vagabond minstrels made their bread in old good times.

Yes, I got the music for free, I have listened to it countless times for free but finally, I bought a ticket for the concert, and, I guess, it covers all the band's costs of its production.

Sure, this is only on aspect of the problem. But anyway, this fight between digital content providers and its consumers should be transformed into a set of agreements between creators and promoters (OK, arts people and sales people.) Creative people are supposed to be creative, consumers are intended to pay and enjoy; thus, it is a sales men's task to make all the parties happy without putting anybody behind the bars.  

Violence On the Road

Having read this interview (“Road warriors”) with a woman who learnt the hard way the politeness rules on the road, I remembered all such cases that have happened to me in my country.

So, I believe it is something intercultural, I would say, common to human nature because humans are animals in fact. Yes, they are social, if you want, socialized, but still animals with all these characteristics related to aggressive behavior, violence and so on. No doubt, this way is much easier to prove to yourself that you are real, you can do something or whatever, I mean, to bolster one’s self-esteem by bullying or pressing offensively someone else.

Behind the wheel a man (or even a woman!) starts feeling powerful, mighty, and it might have an unpredictable impact on some sort of people who become more aggressive on the road. By the way, in fact, as we can see from the statistics, the repercussions of it are horrible: two-thirds of fatal collisions were caused by road rage.

Needless to say that this woman provoked this guy by her mouthing off and that unequivocal, obnoxious gesture – all these put him over the edge, even though he was obviously responsible for this dangerous situation.

I am sure it would have been much better if they had just called 911 to report about this road rage in order to secure themselves and other drivers. But what have me come to teach them if I am like others, too?

CO2 emissions, death and birth rate in real time

Very impressive website showing the CO2 emission, death and birth rate by country. Just hover the mouse and enjoy!

Now: Food inc documentary

I chose the video “Food, Inc.”, the twenty-minute conversation with the author of a new documentary, because I eat everyday as, I guess and hope, everybody does, without actually thinking what this food on the table comes from.

In fact, this stuff is a sort of discovery for me. The food industry has been dramatically changed in last decades: from little private farms to huge industrialized producers those the largest consumers are such companies like McDonald’s. Wouldn’t it be too gullibly to trust to all these ads that promote easy-accessible-and-cheap food on every corner? Is it really safe for our health? I don’t think so.

I adopted from the philosophy course at the university (frankly speaking, much more from my parents and life experience itself) that there are always two sides of every coin. Dialectics: the more you pay for your food, the less damage to your health you get.

However, this documentary goes even farther: it raises the point about these powerful food companies that actually control the information disclosure about what is going in reality behind the curtain. It looks like these giants are more in power that the government. From my point of view, it may be more dangerous than just junk food consumption.

From my personal experience, I could suggest a really working way of being safe from dangerous food. Everyone could buy or loan a small agricultural holding, sufficient to grow potatoes, tomatoes and onions. My grandparents held cows, pigs, chickens, grew apple trees, cultivated a variety of vegetables and so on. But it would be too naive to suppose that such things are achievable without really hard working from dawn till dusk. Could I live like this? I really don’t know… Anyway, next time in the grocery store I will pay more attention to what I choose.