Category — Science and Technology Policy

Linus, Monty, Rasmus: No Software Patents: “Jan Wildeboer writes “The three most famous European authors of open-source software have issued an appeal against software patents on NoSoftwarePatents.com. Linus Torvalds (Linux), Michael “Monty” Widenius (MySQL) and Rasmus Lerdorf (PHP) urge the EU Council, which will convene later in the week, not to adopt a draft directive on software patents that they consider “deceptive, dangerous, and democratically illegitimate”. They also call on the Internet community to express solidarity by placing NoSoftwarePatents.com links and banners on many Web sites.”"

(Via Slashdot.)

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This is one of those core political decisions that will transform the power structure of europe, not the big P political power structure but the small p political power which actually has more power than big P, it just is not as visible.

EFF: Deep Links: “”

(Via .)

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the people stealing documents need to grow up and accept differing opinions. this is 3rd grade stuff.

Physics.org – Physics Life: “”

(Via .)

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i wonder who makes the argument that physics is irrelevant…..

EDUCAUSE | Security Task Force | Publications and Reports: “”

(Via .)

interesting set of reports on higher education information security.

Broadcasters Try to Steal More of the Public Domain, This Week at WIPO: “

Many of you will remember the broadcasting industry’s efforts to push a power-grabbing treaty through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). If the broadcasters have their way, the treaty will:

• Give broadcasters copyright privileges over material they did not create, but merely broadcast, including control over public domain material. They would get these powers for up to 50 years.
• Make it illegal to circumvent technology locks that enforce broadcasters’ control over what users can do with broadcasts.

And if a small group of webcasters gets their way, they’ll get these powers too.

In the last session the pro-treaty forces were pushing to move to the final stages of negotiation, while the developing countries in opposition were trying to slow down the process to get rid of the most odious positions.

The round of negotiations this week is more of the same, except that now there are even more civil society NGOs in attendance and WIPO recently welcomed a “Development Agenda” that explicitly acknowledges the need for these treaties to promote access to the public domain, not inhibit it. On the other side, the webcasters are making an extra hard push, and there still isn’t a great deal of transparency and media coverage to keep the dogs at bay.

Stay tuned. Union for the Public Domain has two people here to make the arguments for the public domain, and we’ll be posting daily updates to the UPD site (http://public-domain.org), including detailed notes on everything that happens in the assembly hall. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact your country’s copyright office to urge them to take a stand against this treaty.

(For more details on the treaty, see: http://www.public-domain.org/node/view/47)”

(Via Union for the Public Domain -.)

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so…. if i were a registered broadcaster, and i rebroadcast c-span stuff in a unique format, it would then be mine? neat…… not really. this is a real butchering of copyright and ownership.

European Commission: Information Society Technologies 2005-06 Work Programme: “The IST Work Programme for 2005-06 sets out the priorities for the Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme in activities for “integrating and strengthening the European research area”. A new call for proposals for projects will be launched on Tuesday, 16 November 2004 with a budget of 1.1 billion Euros. The technical areas that are covered include broadband for all, grid technologies, eGovernment, eLearning, eSafety, ICT research, eBusiness and eInclusion. This document also outlines the evaluation and selection criteria for projects assessed for funding.

ftp://ftp.cordis.lu/pub/ist/docs/ist_wp2005-06_final_en.pdf“

(Via Information Policy.)

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this is something you should know about if you work in science and tech policy

Bound but Gagged . The Treasury Department’s…: “Bound but Gagged. The Treasury Department’s regulations on written material from embargoed nations compromise America’s standing as an advocate of democracy and freedom. By By SHIRIN EBADI. [NYT > Opinion]“

(Via A blog doesn’t need a clever name.)

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it certainly does. democracy requires knowledge and that requires freedom of inquiry which then requires freedom of the press.

Science Braces for Second Term: “The Bush administration had an uneasy relationship with scientists during the first term. Will the president build bridges in the second or burn them completely? A Wired News special report.”

(Via Wired News.)

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i bet he burns them….

The arbitrary and contingent cruelty of life: “Life is unfair. It is probably more unfair now than it has ever been, simply because some countries have been better at organizing their societies to produce more and better goods, and at stimulating their populations to act in more…”

(Via Paul Musgrave Dot Com.)

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Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where very man is enemy to every man; the same is consequent to the time, wherein men live without other security, than what their own strength, and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodious building; no instruments of moving, and removing, such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty brutish and short. Hobbes.

Top scientist asks: is life all just a dream?: “Rees, Royal Society professor of astronomy at Cambridge University, will say that it is now possible to conceive of computers so powerful that they could build an entire virtual universe.”

(Via Gyre.org.)

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this is just fascinating isn’t it?