Capitalism

RIAA v Verizon

This entry was posted in Capitalism Constitution Economics Intellectual Property Internet Libertarianism Technology on by

I don’t condone stealing other folks property even if it is overpriced shoddy music.
However, I applaud the US Court of Appeals of DC’s decision in RIAA v Verizon:

The recording industry’s effort to curtail online piracy was dealt a significant blow today when a federal appeals court ruled that Internet service providers cannot be compelled to disclose the identities of customers suspected of illegally sharing copyrighted songs.

Well, they really can be compelled but it must now be with full due process:

Using the DMCA subpoenas, the RIAA was able to obtain the names of suspected file sharers from ISPs without filing lawsuit and without getting a judge’s approval. Without that subpoena power, the RIAA would have to file suit against unnamed file-swappers in order to obtain their identities.

The complete opinion is here (PDF) and provides some entertaining reading as the court hammers the RIAA. On the other hand, the court did not address constitutional issues raised by Verizon thus leaving the door open for congress to mess things up again.

Real Suit

This entry was posted in Capitalism Economics Libertarianism Marketing Microsoft on by

Sure, they are probably right:

In a complaint filed in federal court in San Jose, California, RealNetworks claimed that Microsoft “pursued a broad course of predatory conduct over a period of years by abusing its monopoly power, resulting in substantial lost revenue and business for RealNetworks.”

but I wonder what makes them think that they will have any more success then Netscape.

Kudos to the 9th Circuit Court

This entry was posted in Capitalism Constitution Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Economics Law Enforcement Libertarianism on by

For doing this good deed:

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that prosecuting these medical marijuana users under a 1970 federal law is unconstitutional if the marijuana isn’t sold, transported across state lines or used for non-medicinal purposes.

Volokh blogger Randy Barnett argued and won this case and he provides technical details and more links here.
We need more like this:

The decision was a blow to the Justice Department, which argued that medical marijuana laws in nine states were trumped by the Controlled Substances Act, which outlawed marijuana, heroin and a host of other drugs nationwide.

No, what we really need is for the myriad local, state and federal drug laws to be eliminated.
Via Talkleft.

Warding off door-to-door peddlers

This entry was posted in Capitalism Constitution Economics Libertarianism Privacy Regulation on by

The Age has some suggestions for warding off door-to-door sales folks of all varieties. For instance:

If Witnesses, Mormons, and other evangelists, such as mobile phone salespeople, provided some notice then things would be different. Forewarned, you could answer the door wearing a Charles Manson T-shirt, carrying a copy of Aleister Crowley’s The Book of the Law in one hand and a dead chicken in the other, with Alice Cooper’s Welcome To My Nightmare blaring out of the stereo. Or you could answer the door dressed as a Teletubbie, gently cradling a tissue box full of chopped liver. Either strategy would work.

There more, enjoy.
Via The Pagan Prattle.

Reason’s List

This entry was posted in ashcroft Capitalism Constitution Drug Laws Economics Libertarianism on by

Yea, I know this is the 3rd list in a row. It’s just the way the day has been going.
Reason Magazine pays tribute:

…to some of the people who have made the world a freer, better, and more libertarian place by example, invention, or action. The one criterion: Honorees needed to have been alive at some point during reason�s run, which began in May 1968. The list is by design eclectic, irreverent, and woefully incomplete, but it limns the many ways in which the world has only gotten groovier and groovier during the last 35 years.

I found this one most entertaining:

John Ashcroft. If Donny and Marie Osmond were a little bit country and a little bit rock �n� roll, the current attorney general is little bit J. Edgar Hoover and a little bit Janet Reno. Whether it�s prosecuting medical marijuana users, devoting scarce resources to arresting adult porn distributors, or using tax dollars to create USA PATRIOT Act propaganda Web sites, Ashcroft has managed to create an unprecedented coalition of conservatives, liberals, and libertarians around a single noble cause: the protection of civil liberties.

Via AnarCapLib.