hydrarchist writes:

"The State of Copyright Activism"

Siva Vaidhyanathan

One of the great hopes I had while I researched and wrote Copyrights and Copywrongs (New York: New York University Press, 2001), a cultural history of American copyright, during the late 1990s was that copyright debates might puncture the bubble of public consciousness and become important global policy questions. My wish has come true.

Since 1998 questions about whether the United States has constructed an equitable or effective copyright system frequently appear on the pages of daily newspapers. Activist movements for both stronger and looser copyright systems have grown in volume and furor. And the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in early 2003 that the foundations of American copyright, as expressed in the Constitution, are barely relevant in an age in which both media companies and clever consumers enjoy unprecedented power over the use of works.

"First Internet Commons Congress Gives Voice to Internet Freedom Advocates"

Grant Gross, IDG News Service, March 31, 2004

The politically minded group of people meeting last week near Washington,
D.C., weren't wearing enough navy suits and power ties to be confused with
the U.S. Congress, but there was a much deeper concern for the Internet than
most congressmen can muster.

Russia Claims New Missle Developments Nullify ABM Systems

ITAR-TASS

Moscow, 28 March: Russia's latest projects in the ballistic weapons field,
which allow for manoeuvring in terms of altitude and course, are an "almost
revolutionary step", according to a senior source in the Russian Defence
Ministry. The source clarified that he was talking of the experiments
conducted during the latest large-scale exercises in Russia. "This is a
serious step that really does change the philosophy of military-strategic
interaction," the source said. According to the expert, "the existence of
such a weapons system nullifies any anti-missile defence system".

"Dark Nets and Social Software"

Robert Kaye

[At the recent O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference in
San Diego, CA, Robert Kaye lead a talk on Next Generation File Sharing
with Social Software. For those who were able to attend, this essay builds
upon that session. And if you missed the talk all together, you can now
get up to speed.]

Open file sharing systems like Kazaa welcome everyone on the net and enjoy
a broad selection of content. The selection is so vast that Cory Doctorow
calls it "The largest library ever created." (Personally, I'd call it the
"largest and messiest library ever created," but that is another essay
entirely.) However, this vast selection comes with a significant risk
attached — outsider attackers who want to stop you from sharing files and
would like to throw you in jail or pilfer your college fund.