"The music-industry lobbying-and-litigation arm is protesting a federal magistrate's recommendation that it cough up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for an Oregon woman. Tanya Andersen, 42, says she racked up the expenses defending against an RIAA infringement lawsuit that was ultimately dismissed for lack of evidence.

The RIAA dropped the case this summer against Andersen, months after concluding her hard drive didn't contain any purloined music tracks. The RIAA sued her two years ago, alleging a Kazaa shared directory that linked to her internet-protocol address was unlawfully distributing thousands of songs -- a case Andersen's lawyers decried as "frivolous."

The RIAA is arguing in court documents that the association shouldn't have to pay defense counsel fees, because Andersen is probably guilty anyway...
Andersen's lawyers said Thursday their legal fees could surpass the $222,000..."

RIAA Fights to Avoid Attorney Fees in Dismissed Piracy Lawsuit

I wonder if she didn't respond because she was dead? Try finding an internet savy lawyer in a small town around here. HA! Wonder if that is why so many local lawsuits have been filed?
----------------------------------------------------------

"A Bartow woman must pay $6,420 for eight songs she is accused of downloading and sharing with others on the Internet.

In July, the Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit against Christy Lee, of 61 Honeysuckle Road in Cartersville, for the alleged copyright violation.

Lee never responded to the lawsuit, so a default judgment was granted against her at $750 per song and $420 in court costs.

As evidence in the complaint, the plaintiffs — who include several major record labels — provided documents showing more than 20 pages of music and video files shared using peer-to-peer program Kazaa. The username of the Kazaa files was shown as ChristyLee@Kazaa.com.

This suit is only one of the RIAA’s massive lawsuit campaign to crack down on music pirates; several other suits have been filed locally.

According to the RIAA, in March more than 7.8 million households in the U.S. illegally downloaded music."

Cartersville Woman ordered to pay 6,000 in RIAA lawsuit

I don't support the whole idea of hate crime legislation, and this is a good reason why. You can hate a whole class of people without even knowing they exist, I think.

Is this hanging witch a hate crime? Is it a crime against witches, pagans, democrats, Hilary? All of the above?

As a grown woman it doesn't bother me in the least, but as the parent of a pagan child, it horrifies me.

Maybe in a world 60 years ago witches were fictional characters, but today there is a large group of people who claim ownership of that term (many of whom I call friend.)

Hate crime legislation mandates that we class people, but who does this classifying? The government, or the people? And how do we gaurantee that we are all on the same PAGE with just who is in what class?

Halloween decoration or hate crime?

Oh, I just can't HELP it, this kind of thing just BURNS me up.

This is so ugly, so spiteful, so competitive. If your idea of religion can't accept questions, and feels it has to destroy the treasures, the sacred icons and art of others, man..you're just psycho.

"Islamist radicals in Pakistan have attempted to destroy an ancient carving of Buddha by drilling holes in the rock and filling them with dynamite.

The Buddha is thought to date from the seventh century AD

The 23ft high image was damaged during the attack, which brought back memories of the Taliban's destruction six years ago of the giant Buddhas at Bamiyan, in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The Buddha, in the Swat district of north-west Pakistan, is thought to date from the seventh century AD and was considered the largest in Asia, after the two Bamiyan Buddhas."

Islamists Damage/Deface Ancient Rock Carving of Buddha

Like Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, Stephen Colbert so completely inhabits his creation—the arch-conservative blowhard host of The Colbert Report, his Daily Show spin-off hit—that he rarely breaks character. As Colbert's new book, I Am America (And So Can You!), is published, Vanity Fair gets a revealing interview with the real thing: a master comedian, forever altered by family tragedy.

The Man in the Irony Mask

It will be a cold day in HELL before I buy any more music - I won't even be going to see any concerts anymore either.

If it hurts the artists, so be it. They shouldn't be doing business with these asses EITHER.

RIAA is obsolete. WE do not need them -Artists do not need them.
THey are now hurting people, terrorizing people. As a corporate entity, they must die. Now, how do we accomplish that?

Will libraries now have to stop offering CDs as this makes music available to copy? Will they take the public libraries to court?
What about sites like Cdswap.com?

We need new laws as well. NOW.
--------------------------------------------

"DULUTH, Minnesota -- Jammie Thomas, a single mother of two, was found liable Thursday for copyright infringement in the nation's first file-sharing case to go before a jury.

Twelve jurors here said the Minnesota woman must pay $9,250 for each of 24 shared songs that were the subject of the lawsuit, amounting to $222,000 in penalties.

They could have dinged her for up to $3.6 million in damages, or awarded as little as $18,000. She was found liable for infringing songs from bands such as Journey, Green Day, Aerosmith and others.

After the verdict was read, Thomas and her attorney left the courthouse without comment. The jurors also declined to talk to reporters.

The verdict, coming after two days of testimony and about five hours of deliberations, was a mixed victory for the RIAA, which has brought more than 20,000 lawsuits in the last four years as part of its zero-tolerance policy against pirating. The outcome is likely to embolden the RIAA, which began targeting individuals in lawsuits after concluding the legal system could not keep pace with the ever growing number of file-sharing sites and services.

"This is what can happen if you don't settle," RIAA attorney Richard Gabriel told reporters outside the courthouse. "I think we have sent a message we are willing to go to trial."

Still, it's unlikely the RIAA's courtroom victory will translate into a financial windfall or stop piracy, which the industry claims costs it billions in lost sales. Despite the thousands of lawsuits -- the majority of them settling while others have been dismissed or are pending -- the RIAA's litigation war on internet piracy has neither dented illegal, peer-to-peer file sharing or put much fear in the hearts of music swappers'

They didn't even have to prove she transferred anything - just...that she made it...available.

The Day the Music Died - Mom to pay RIAA $222,000 NO.

Chomsky on the Pot...
I love Chomsky.

YouTube - Chomsky talks about Marijuana

There are a few other stories that have come out about this, but the details are not what they should be, and no justice has been served in this case as of yet.

It is my understanding that there were multiple attacks - multiple acts of intimidation by neighbors (of mixed race) ...some of the attackers started saying that the family was white supremacists, which is not true (and irrelevant as a justification for such violence anyway) - they are of mixed ethnic heritage themselves - in order to further marginalize them.
This is in Canada.

=========
"For weeks, Shauna Cook, 37, says she's been targeted in her Halifax home because she is a hedge-witch natural healer.

Now, two of her pagan friends have been attacked, with one stabbed in the back and another struck in the head with a rock.

Shortly after midnight on Saturday, an 18-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy were leaving Cook's house to catch the bus when they were approached by four male teenagers, who asked the pair where they were going.

After saying they were going home, the boy was attacked.

Two more people jumped into the fight, making it six attackers in all.

The young woman ran back to Cook's house and tried to phone police.

While on the phone, one of the attackers threw a rock through a window and hit her in the forehead.

Meanwhile, the 17-year old boy was being beaten and stabbed in the back before he made it back to the house himself.

The attackers then fled.

The attack came weeks after Cook's family was swarmed by bat-wielding assailants.

Cook says she has no doubt her friends were attacked partly because she is a hedge-witch. She explains her religion as a more traditional form of wicca."

Witch fleeing Halifax after friends attacked, family swarmed

The work of Ninagawa Mika the galleries are fabulous, but, to me, the fashion and goldfish photography really excel.
Enjoy the trip!

Gorgeous Japanese Fine Art Fashion Photography

Cat mutilations have been reported in several states now - and the pattern is the same - Cats, with no blood, cut in thirds or half - sometimes with their little kitty legs cut off - surgically or with a laser....left for others to find.

Top places have been Texas, Edmonton, Canada, and Utah, but the cases have been popping up all over North America.

Police in some areas say they will no longer report the details, thinking that perhaps it is inciting copy ...uh....cat killers.

It is totally sick. I'm no PETA member, but my cats are my babies. Cats ARE the size of babies. Here in Georgia, ( one sicko was torturing cats and feeding them to his pit bulls.

-------------------

"Aurora police will hold a news conference on Wednesday to announce that they will no longer release details on the cat mutilation cases that have plagued the metro area because they believe that media coverage may actually provoke more mutilations.

At the conference, police will also introduce the members of the multi-city task force created last month to crack the case. Officers will also explain how the public can help in the investigation, and how pet owners can keep their cats safe by keeping them indoors.

Four mutilated cats were discovered over the weekend, bringing the number to 40 cats discovered in Aurora, Denver and surrounding areas in the past year"

Cow Mutilations were bad enough - but CAT mutilations?