"Despite the "penalties" for an inappropriate use of takedown notice, I don't think there has been a single case ever where this has been applied."

See the public YouTube case of VenomFangX vs. Thunderf00t.

That's just how one false DMCA claim was handled (oddly enough, very similar situation - creationist wanted to stifle free thinker's free speech). There are many more where the DMCA's misuse has seen consequences, and some big names have had to say they were wrong. The EFF would probably be a good place to look, since they're usually involved wherever the DMCA is being invoked, and often, they help with legal expenses of those falsely accused of DMCA infraction (although both Thunderf00t and DonExodus2 both found pro bono help - it seems when it comes to the DMCA and getting a sure-fire case win, you can expect lawyers to come out of the woodwork to your aid).

If you file a DMCA notice on youtube, you are expected to sue the uploaders. If you don't, that's pretty much a given that you're not using the DMCA the way you're supposed to. By law, youtube has to share the takedown letter to the uploader (and they do), so that they can prepare for a lawsuit or counter-suit as the case may be.

Don't get me wrong. The DMCA was a horrible piece of legislation that proves that lawmakers are lazy, incompetent, and just plain out of touch with how the majority of this country thinks. But there's some teeth built into the bill to keep it from being used as a way to stifle free speech. If you're caught misusing the DMCA, you expose yourself to both legal and civil damage. If you cannot pay for your false claims, you can have an injunction placed against you from filing any further DMCA claims.

The hand ball is only part of the furore. There's also a fair bit of miffage that seedings were introduced for the play-offs to favour the 'big name' countries, putting further pressure on the referees of the play-offs.

I wasn't entirely positive on all of them. I just scrolled through the user list and picked out some big names that I knew were generally liked. Well, except from karaidl... he's my hero.

In reply to this comment by EDD:
Very nice of you to mention this. James Roe isn't completely inactive, as far as I know, and edeot is on active service in Iraq since beginning of summer, so I hope he'll be back in some months' time.

>> ^brycewi19:
I'm sorry, I know she talked smack, but you just don't let the officials end a game/match/event. Period.
You let the players decide who wins. Not the enforcement of a judgment call type of rule.

The players did decide who won. Serena was about to lose the match. She crossed a line, was penalized a point, and lost. This was not a judgement call. You respect the officials. You do not threaten them. You don't treat anybody that way. If you do because you get heated, you apologize. You don't scream at them again when they're returning to their chair. You don't excuse yourself by saying that other people have said "way worse."

The only unfair part of this was that it robbed her opponent of a properly celebrated victory, and Serena is the one who caused that, not that officials. You don't get to do whatever the fuck you please just because you're a big name player, nor do you get to do whatever the fuck you like just because it's match point. A crossed line is a crossed line. She should have known that after the foot fault.

In reply to this comment by NordlichReiter:
I think that a free market entails a Natural Selection of sorts. An Evolution of good business.

Not some market where the FED, and Taxation makes the incentives.

Let the big companies die. If the Unions kill the companies, let them die. They have to help themselves before any impotent government could even fathom helping them.

With unions to much of a good thing can be a bad thing. To much of the other can smother good business.

Its simple, good market is good competitiveness, not sneaky tactics. Its all about incentives. Every where I look I see bad incentives. A bonus for making that arrest, a bonus for hiring your best friend, a bonus for being a big name on wall street, a bonus for having kids, a bonus for getting married, a bonus for having a house and there are bonuses for just about every thing! Enough bonuses! That's a quick fix to make the common man feel better about an entropic system.

Start with the FED, then with move to Tax Reform. Then move on and cut the fat away from the Meet.


right on man.

I think that a free market entails a Natural Selection of sorts. An Evolution of good business.

Not some market where the FED, and Taxation makes the incentives.

Let the big companies die. If the Unions kill the companies, let them die. They have to help themselves before any impotent government could even fathom helping them.

With unions to much of a good thing can be a bad thing. To much of the other can smother good business.

Its simple, good market is good competitiveness, not sneaky tactics. Its all about incentives. Every where I look I see bad incentives. A bonus for making that arrest, a bonus for hiring your best friend, a bonus for being a big name on wall street, a bonus for having kids, a bonus for getting married, a bonus for having a house and there are bonuses for just about every thing! Enough bonuses! That's a quick fix to make the common man feel better about an entropic system.

Start with the FED, then with move to Tax Reform. Then move on and cut the fat away from the Meat.

Yes, greed fear, and ignorance are the main tools of the business that is politics. I am just over 2 years of college, with a bachelor of arts. I voted independent. My main reason is that I distrust both parties. I believe that each election is a show, reality TV only its reality.

I think free market is excellent so long as the participants are ethical, and currently all of the US systems are lacking in ethics.

The current problem with the Systems of the world are the Incentives to take action, whether that action be evil, good, or neutral.

I urge all of the US citizens, who see this comment, if you take nothing away from here then take this: how many of you know what the Office of Government Ethics or Federal Office of Special Counsel are?

Please see: FAA Whistle blowers fired and defamed. The client serving culture costs the Consumer.

Take for example, the cure of HIV : http://www.baldwincountynow.com/articles/2009/05/28/local_news/doc4a1d63cb68531598814432.txt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCR5

Little publicity? Incentives! The big names didn't find the "cure" so they stifle the little names. We see the same thing when it comes to politics, wars, freedom, and traffic laws. HIV is treatable. Yet the public still thinks that it is not?

As to your question JiggaJphnson, allow me to quote Göring from the Nuremberg trials.

Göring: Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.
Gilbert: There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.
Göring: Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.

Welcome to Not-Getting-Itsville. Meet our mayor, Sirex.

The show is not about Gordon managing these people. It's about him eliminating them one-by-one. Joseph is not a "stand-up guy" -- he's schizophrenic if he has any excuse. More likely he's just kinda dumb and either can't control himself or thought he could manipulate the situation to make a big name for himself as "that hotheaded guy from Hell's Kitchen".

I personally get completely infuriated with anyone who refuses to answer the question that's being asked. With me I'm usually asking a yes or no question. That's all I want, a "yes" or a "no", but people have to go on all fucking day with the reasoning for the yes or the no.... meanwhile my life is ending one minute at a time over here.

The video game industry is basically at a low at the moment, because there truly isn't anything new coming out.

My problem is that they seem to have lost their creativity and imagination. In the past however many years, the "Big Name" companies have had one idea and milked the shit out of it to make a crapton of money that they're only spending a fraction of to make sequels of the same game wrapped in a new pretty box.

Halo, Gears of War, Prince of Persia, Metal Gear, Hell, even Final Fantasy is starting to go downhill.
All of these titles have at least 3 games already in the franchise, or are soon going to, and each one basically had a steady decline in how good it was.

Whoever previously mentioned that the companies don't want to take risks basically hit the nail on the head. Very few are releasing something new, and even fewer look like they'd be fun.
The way I've always thought about it, a video game is like a book, or movie, just interactive.

A perfect example of this is from the Bioware games, The KOTOR series and Mass Effect are fantastic in the way they play out, because it's the exact same as a story, there's progression, there's conversation, there's reason to do what you're doing.

Take a game like Halo: Combat evolved, look at it, it was fantastic because as the storyline progressed, you learned about what happened, you found out who the covenant was and what their purpose was for finding the halo, and you learned the secret of the ring itself, That's a good progression.

Then you look at the second one.. The only thing new about it was the fact that there were now giant gorillas that wanted to eat your face, everything else was the same, nothing real new in the way of story or gameplay except you got slightly more overpowered, and the third is basically the same thing. I can't blame Bungie for Halo 3, there was never supposed to BE a halo 3, but MS pulled their funds before they could finish the final level which was supposed to close off the series and they were forced to make it.

My solution to this is to actually find people who write, authors who are willing to at least pitch ideas for games, and a studio that's willing to listen. If there's a company out there that could do that, the independent market could be almost abolished because the companies are hiring them on for ideas.

However, the "Reverend" Is right on one point, until we stop buying these rehashed games with a new number on the end, there won't BE anything new to buy. The companies will go for more of the same because people keep buying it.

Why are you guys keeps on bring up Peter Jackson's name? He just "presents" the film. Like how Tarantino "presented" "Hero". Peter Jackson really have nothing to do with the film, they are just piggy back riding each other. The film needed a big name to sell in the states, and apparently ppl are dumb enough to think that the film is made by Peter Jackson.

>> ^grahamslam:
>> ^Deano:
I assume it's a good thing that this doesn't appear to be attached to a major studio. Then I read that they are owned by Sony. So I don't know how big a release this will be. Normally you'd expect this to be set in the states and have some big names.

Peter Jackson isn't a big enough name for you? It feels more real to me that it is set in South Africa without the "big-name stars". I'm tired of seeing the same old movie plots with the same old actors...in the same old locations...


That's the thing - I wonder if this is going to be an uncompromised sci-fi gem without the usual Hollywood bollocks or if Jackson is there to ensure it's commercial enough. I hope he was there just to give it enough momentum to get it made.

Still I don't understand the fuss about Jackson. The LoTR films were enjoyable but I wouldn't want to see them again soon.

Let's hope that there's a cracking story to go with the visuals.

>> ^Deano:
I assume it's a good thing that this doesn't appear to be attached to a major studio. Then I read that they are owned by Sony. So I don't know how big a release this will be. Normally you'd expect this to be set in the states and have some big names.


Peter Jackson isn't a big enough name for you? It feels more real to me that it is set in South Africa without the "big-name stars". I'm tired of seeing the same old movie plots with the same old actors...in the same old locations...

I assume it's a good thing that this doesn't appear to be attached to a major studio. Then I read that they are owned by Sony. So I don't know how big a release this will be. Normally you'd expect this to be set in the states and have some big names.

>> ^ponceleon:
I love QI, but every time I watch a clip, I feel embarrassed to be an American. This show just glorifies knowledge, learning, and how it can be fun, funny, and witty... it seems that most of our popular culture glorifies laziness, extreme consumption, stupidity and blind patriotism.
Case in point, languages. America has this INEXPLICABLE phobia of bilingualism. Rather than embrace other languages and encourage our young people to learn them, we are too busy passing laws making English the "official" language and forcing others to learn it.
I'm absolutely sure I'm going to get flamed for this comment, but I just don't think America would ever produce a prime-time show like QI and attract big names to be on it... we are much more likely to have a NASCAR race, hotdog eating contest, or something involving bullshit paranormal "science" like ghost hunting (man, that ghosthunting stuff pisses me off).



Then again I suspect only America could give us The Wire, Deadwood, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. These are things that English tv are unable to match.

Still, I feel your pain.

I love QI, but every time I watch a clip, I feel embarrassed to be an American. This show just glorifies knowledge, learning, and how it can be fun, funny, and witty... it seems that most of our popular culture glorifies laziness, extreme consumption, stupidity and blind patriotism.

Case in point, languages. America has this INEXPLICABLE phobia of bilingualism. Rather than embrace other languages and encourage our young people to learn them, we are too busy passing laws making English the "official" language and forcing others to learn it.

I'm absolutely sure I'm going to get flamed for this comment, but I just don't think America would ever produce a prime-time show like QI and attract big names to be on it... we are much more likely to have a NASCAR race, hotdog eating contest, or something involving bullshit paranormal "science" like ghost hunting (man, that ghosthunting stuff pisses me off).