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Tuesday, January 23, 2007
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It didn't take long for at least one member of Congress to reintroduce legislation aimed at further restricting Internet access at schools and libraries. As reported by ZDNet and Linda Braun of the ALA, Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska has introduced what they describe as "identical language" to DOPA, the Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006. If DOPA had become law, it would have forced schools and libraries receiving E-Rate subsidies to block access to commercial interactive services, including online social networks and blogging tools. But the bill expired when the Dems took over Congress. Stevens re-introduced the bill the first day of the new session, and he added some new twists to it, according to ZDNet: "Stevens didn't stop there, packaging his reincarnation of DOPA with another failed proposal that would require all sexually explicit sites to be labeled as such, according to a copy of the bill obtained by CNET News.com. Although it has encountered opposition from civil libertarians, the idea gained bipartisan support within Congress, passing unanimously as an amendment to a massive communications bill that ultimately died." From what I can tell, DOPA Jr. doesn't have a title yet, nor any cosponsors, though it's referenced as Senate Bill 49, or S. 49. The Library of Congress hasn't posted the text of the bill yet, but it has this brief summary: "Title: A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prevent the carriage of child pornography by video service providers, to protect children from online predators, and to restrict the sale or purchase of children's personal information in interstate commerce."
posted by kevin.reese.ing @
10:38 AM
The placenta is a very valuable human tissue, although the proper recycling of it is not placentophagy, but to isolate stem cells from its amnion layer, and store them for later regenerative purposes for the whole family. Human amniotic epithelial cells (HAECs) from the placenta are alternative replacements of human embryonic stem cells and have the potential to differentiate to all three germ layers in vitro. These cells are very close to those earlier and broadly multipotent amniotic fluid-derived stem cells, that made the big buzz lately on the web, published by De Coppi, Atala et al. in Nature Biotechnology. Here I would like to show, although I do not provide any warranty and can not give any guarantee, that isolating stem cells from the placenta is not more difficult than making a steak...
posted by kevin.reese.ing @
10:37 AM
Monday, January 22, 2007
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Canadian Heritage Minister Oda in the pocket of recording execs Michael sez, "Following a debate on CBC Radio with Canadian Recording Industry Association President Graham Henderson, Michael Geist is reporting that according to documents recently obtained under the Access to Information Act, last year eleven professional organizations representing most Canadian copyright holders in the music industry, including songwriters, composers, performers, record producers, and publishers, wrote to Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda and Industry Minister Maxime Bernier to reject CRIA's new opposition to the private copying system and to 'express their reservations concerning the legal protection of technological measures used to limit access to, or reproduction of, musical works.' "Moreover, the government documents reveal incredible access for CRIA to the highest levels of the Canadian government. CRIA was busy arranging an event for government officials within days of the election which led to a sponsored lobby session on March 2nd that included a government-funded lunch and a private meeting with Minister Oda. New documents reveal that this was merely the tip of the iceberg. Four weeks later (on April 1st), CRIA hosted a private lunch at the Juno Awards for Bev Oda featuring Henderson and the presidents of the major music labels followed by an artist roundtable. Six weeks after that (on May 16th), Graham Henderson was granted another meeting with Bev Oda, this time to counter the news that the indie labels had left CRIA and that the CMCC had launched." Link (Thanks, Michael!)
posted by kevin.reese.ing @
11:09 AM
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