Comment Re:Probably unlikely (Score 2, Insightful) 129
Unfortunately, I have a feeling they'll be of the mindset of, "we'll do what we want now, and use the last year to make everyone think we're the best option again."
Comment Re:Who is receiving the money? (Score 1) 349
The article specifically mentions that these are new fees being paid to Re:Sound in addition to the fees paid to SOCAN. And, as others have mentioned, the fees are being expanded to private functions, as well.
Submission + - Canadian Copyright board to charge for music at weddings, parades (www.cbc.ca) 1
silentbrad writes: The CBC reports that the Copyright Board of Canada will begin charging for music played at live venues: 'Money can't buy love — but if you want some great tunes playing at your wedding, it's going to cost you. The Copyright Board of Canada has certified new tariffs that apply to recorded music used at live events including conventions, karaoke bars, ice shows, fairs and, yes, weddings. The fees will be collected by a not-for-profit called Re:Sound. While the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (otherwise known as SOCAN) already collects money from many of these events for the songwriters, Re:Sound will represent the record labels and performers who contributed to the music. ... For weddings, receptions, conventions, assemblies and fashion shows, the fee is $9.25 per day if fewer than 100 people are present and goes up to $39.33 for crowds of more than 500 people. If there's dancing, the fees double. Karaoke bars will pay between $86.06 and $124 annually depending on how many days per week they permit the amateur crooning. And parades, meanwhile, will be charged $4.39 for each float with recorded music participating in the parade, subject to a minimum fee of $32.55 per day.'
Also reported by Sun News, Metro News, and others.
Also reported by Sun News, Metro News, and others.
Submission + - Are Porn and Games Basically the Same Thing? (ign.com)
silentbrad writes: IGN published an article, today, discussing an editorial from CNN: Pornography and videogames are pretty much the same thing, according to a sensational and terrifying editorial published on CNN today called ‘The Demise of Guys: How Videogames and Porn are Ruining a Generation’. Games and porn are not only equal, they are equally damaging to young men, destroying their ability to connect with women, and therefore threatening the future of our entire species. ... The article, by psychologist Philip G. Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan argues that young men are “hooked on arousal, sacrificing their schoolwork and relationships in the pursuit of getting a tech-based buzz”. ... Zimbardo, has danced this jig before. At the Long Beach TED conference last year he told a delighted audience that “guys are wiping out socially with girls and sexually with women.” He added that young men have been so zombiefied by games and porn that they are unable to function in basic human interactions. “It’s a social awkwardness like a stranger in a foreign land”, he said. “They don’t know what to say. They don’t know what to do.”
Submission + - Disabled teen incurs $8,000 texting bill (www.cbc.ca)
silentbrad writes: From the CBC: A mentally-disabled B.C. teen was hit by an $8,000 cell phone bill from Koodo after texting someone he thought was a girlfriend through a "premium" text dating site. “She had told me that she would meet me maybe in July . . . once we were ready,” said 19-year-old Brandon Kobza. “I just feel ripped off. With my disability, I only get $900 a month. That’s not enough to even pay like a portion of [the bill].” Kobza is a former foster child with fetal alcohol syndrome and other disabilities. Because Kobza didn’t qualify for a cell phone contract on his own, Ben Woodman, a church youth worker from Burnaby, B.C., reluctantly agreed to put the phone in his name — but with strict limits due to Kobza's disabilities. “I said, 'You know I don’t want any data or extra charges' and they said, ‘We can block that.' I made sure he had unlimited texts,” said Woodman. “I put a lot of faith in Koodo. I’m asking the representative 'What can go wrong ? Can I get charged for anything else?' And they said nothing about premium texts.” ... “It’s preying on the weak. It’s preying on people. It’s preying on kids with cell phones,” Woodman said. After he saw the bills — $8,243.06 for a month and a half — Woodman cancelled Kobza’s phone. He said he also asked Koodo to cancel the texting charges, but the most the company would offer was 80 per cent off. “If they forgave my bill, I would not necessarily care to come to [Go Public]. But in some ways I’m glad that we get to do some of these stories, because people need to know. You can get totally ripped off.”
Submission + - Europe to get the JUICE flowing to explore Jupiters moons (video) (tech-stew.com)
techfun89 writes: "The European Space Agency has given the go for a mission to the icy moons and Jupiter called JUICE, which stands for JUpiter ICy moons Explorer.
JUICE will consist of a solar-powered craft that will spend 3.5 years at the Jovian system. It will investigate Ganymede, Europa and the upper atmosphere of Jupiter. The mission won't launch until 2022 and arrive at Jupiter 8 years later in 2030.
The main science objectives are that of the largest icy moons, Ganymede and Europa, which are thought to harbor liquid oceans under their frozen surfaces.
The total cost of this mission is expected to be $1.1 billion (870 million euros)."
JUICE will consist of a solar-powered craft that will spend 3.5 years at the Jovian system. It will investigate Ganymede, Europa and the upper atmosphere of Jupiter. The mission won't launch until 2022 and arrive at Jupiter 8 years later in 2030.
The main science objectives are that of the largest icy moons, Ganymede and Europa, which are thought to harbor liquid oceans under their frozen surfaces.
The total cost of this mission is expected to be $1.1 billion (870 million euros)."
Submission + - European eID announced (zdnet.co.uk)
gbjbaanb writes: On Wednesday, the European Commission published a strategy document aimed at setting up systems to protect children online. In the document — but not in the accompanying press release nor the citizens' summary — the Commission mentioned that it will soon propose a "pan-European framework for electronic authentication", full details will be announced on 30th May.
The launch of the strategy follows a push to strengthen internet security in the EU. It also outlined legal measures to make it easier for people to use a single e-ID for online services across borders, which would underpin a move toward a pan-European framework for electronic identification, authentication and signature (Pefias) framework.
The launch of the strategy follows a push to strengthen internet security in the EU. It also outlined legal measures to make it easier for people to use a single e-ID for online services across borders, which would underpin a move toward a pan-European framework for electronic identification, authentication and signature (Pefias) framework.
Submission + - Squid-Inspired Tech Could Lead to Color-Changing Smart Materials (gizmag.com)
Zothecula writes: If you’ve ever watched a cephalopod such as a squid changing color, then you’ll know that it’s a pretty amazing process – they can instantly change the appearance of their skin from dark to light and back again, or even create pulsating bands of color that travel across it. They are able to do this thanks to muscles that manipulate the pigmentation of their skin. Now, scientists from the University of Bristol have succeeded in creating artificial muscles and cells, that might someday allow for the same sort of color changes in smart clothing that can camouflage itself against different backgrounds.
Submission + - Calgary police reprimanded for snooping through civilian's email account (nationalpost.com)
silentbrad writes: The National Post reports on what could become common practice if Canada's Bill C-30, the Lawful Access / Online Surveillance bill, is passed: "Security experts with Calgary’s Police Service broke provincial privacy legislation by snooping in a civilian employee’s personal email account and copying topless photos of the woman as part of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace. ... According to the order that was released Monday, the IT security manager at CPS began monitoring the woman’s corporate email in March, 2010, after co-workers told her manager about alleged inappropriate conduct with a police officer while on the job. When the manager found a message sent to a family member containing the woman’s log-in and password for her personal email, he used that information to access the account. He found two photos that the woman apparently had taken of herself in a washroom stall. The checkered green and white tile in the images was similar to the pattern at the police headquarters, leading him to believe they were taken while the woman was on duty. The photos were copied, given to her supervisor and HR consultant, and subsequently used by the CPS in its decision to fire the woman. ... Officials with CPS were not immediately available to comment."
Comment Re:Not the point. (Score 1) 334
It leads to aggression, lower test scores, etc.
I have a problem with this. Sure, we're a small sample group, and spanking wasn't the only form of discipline used, but my sister and I don't fit that mold. I've been a pacifist since elementary, and my sister (at 36) just got her first grade below 4.0.
Submission + - Vikileaks creator fights back in face of Tory MP questions (www.cbc.ca)
silentbrad writes: From the CBC: The former Liberal staffer who set up a Twitter account to publicize details from the divorce filings of Public Safety Minister Vic Toews fought back today against Conservative MP questions, calling some of them "baseless smears." Adam Carroll resigned from his position in the Liberal Party's research bureau when House of Commons IT staff traced the computer that had been posting to the social media site to him. ... Carroll told MPs on the committee that while the divorce documents are publicly available at a courthouse in Manitoba, he got them out of a filing cabinet in the Liberal Party's research office. ... Carroll used an account on Twitter under the username vikileaks30 to send 140-character quotes from Toews and his ex-wife's divorce filings, noting in the first few tweets that it was in retaliation for Toews' online surveillance bill. The bill, C-30, sparked a huge public backlash over provisions that gave police more power to demand customer information from internet service providers, among other problems. ... The password Carroll chose for the Twitter account poked fun at the Conservatives, Carroll revealed, telling the committee it was "strongstablenationalmajorityConservativegovernment." ... Speaking to the procedure and House affairs committee last month, Toews said criticism of his personal life is fair game. Carroll says he broke no laws and didn't breach any House of Commons policies. ... "I know it's a difficulty even for members to accept that your personal life is fair game. That's the world we live in, and I'm not going to try in any way to suggest that somehow aspects of my life are off-limits." Toews had said earlier at the committee that attacks on an MP's personal life were not appropriate.
Comment Re:Bureacracy sucks but (Score 1) 164
or the guy who thinks he's better than his opponents because he's white?
To be fair to this guy, the question he was asked was something along the lines of, "In such a multicultural riding, do you think you are at a disadvantage as a Caucasian?" Then again, he thinks Sikh and Muslim are in the same category as Caucasian.
Comment Re:Still not truly green (Score 1) 172
Not just glass, but scissors and lizards, too.
Submission + - Murderous Psychopaths Play Games (ign.com)
silentbrad writes: From IGN: Anders Breivik is a mass murderer who killed 69 people, mostly teenagers, because he didn't like their opinions. He is a political extremist ... a fantasist who claims to have ties to The Knights Templar. He is on trial right now for those murders, and, in the presence of his victims' broken relatives, he showboats and poses. ... He is also a gamer. ... On this revelation, there's a temptation to shrug shoulders and say, 'so what?' It's such a commonplace pastime, like eating in restaurants or enjoying professional sports, that it barely merits consideration. ... Some in the games media have been quick to cry foul over media coverage ... Indeed, it's not just gaming under fire. ... Unfortunately, we'll hear a lot more from him in the days ahead, evil stuff far more troubling than his enjoyment of role-playing and shooting games and his bizarrely juvenile relationship with the fantasies he enjoyed.
Comment Re:Crybabies and whingers (Score 1) 215
No. The article explicitly states that they do pay licensing fees; they simply pay less than the other corporations because they're non-profit.
