February 23, 2006

Google Loses Copyright Infringement Case

(Los Angeles) Google will be prevented from displaying certain copyrighted thumbnail images according to a U.S. District Court ruling on Friday.

From Breitbart.com:

Internet giant Google Inc. infringed copyright rules by posting thumbnail-size photos from other websites on its search results pages, a US judge said in a ruling issued.

US District Judge Howard Matz's ruling, handed down in Los Angeles, stems from a lawsuit filed in 2004 by the pornography firm Perfect 10 Inc., which accused Google of breaching on its copyrights.

The type of search with which Perfect 10 took issue is Google's "Image Search" function, which returns a page with tiny images -- known as thumbnails -- that fit the searcher's query.

The image search function also allows searchers to view the image as it appears on the page.

The judge ruled that because Google receives advertising money from offering search functions, it is not entitled to the same level of free use of the images as other entities would be.

Both sides in the case were instructed to craft the wording for a preliminary injunction barring Google from using the thumbnail-size images. Notably, the ruling applies only to images owned by the Perfect 10 company. For now, that is.

As the godfather of search engines, I would speculate that Google will be taken to court on a fairly regular basis.

From Interested-Participant.

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Car Crash Leads To FBI Terrorism Task Force Investigation

A multi-vehicle crash on the Stevenson Expressway near Stickney, Illinois has prompted an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation.

The investigation was prompted by the $2 million check authorities found in the car of 45-year-old Lafi Nofal the Chicago Tribune says:

Chicago Tribune— The FBI has joined the investigation into a multi-vehicle crash on the Stevenson Expressway after police found a $2 million check, credit cards and other "financial instruments" in the car of one of two people killed, authorities said today.

The items were discovered in the car of a 45-year-old man involved in the crash, which occurred about 11:20 a.m. Wednesday on the outbound Stevenson (Interstate Highway 55) near Stickney, Illinois State Police said.

The man, identified as Lafi Nofal, was flown by helicopter to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died from his injuries hours after the accident, the Cook County medical examiner's office said. ...

CBS2 in Chicago is also covering the story: [ click here ]

WBBM has coverage as well, [ click here ]

Cross-posted at OpinionBug.com

Update:

Lafi Nofal's family talked to CBS2 about Lafi and the FBI's investigation of his financial dealings.

His family told CBS2 that Lafi ran a medical clinic in Puerto Rico where he lived. He was also an entrepeneur, and investor they said. Every 3 to 4 months, Lafi would come to the U.S. to conduct business then return to Puerto Rico. His family lives on the West Bank where he was building a house.

CBS2 says the FBI is still involved.

Source: CBS2

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The Death Of Islamofascism..

...lies with the likes of Muslihoon.

No particular post to link to. Just read it all.

Besides, how can you not love a Muslim that dares say this:

Now, if a Christian were to enter Mecca and leave a cross/crucifix/Bible - ah, that's an interesting issue. (We'd do it, except We might be killed. Even if We were not, many thousands of innocent Christians and Westerners might be in the raging flames of the Muslims' reaction.)

If I were a Muslim, I'd be Muslihoon.

God is great, indeed.

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Second Able Danger Conference Call Tonight

I'll be participating in a second conference call about Able Danger tonight. Representative Curt Weldon will update bloggers on the latest developments and take questions. This is a follow-up to this call with Mark Zaid, who represents Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and others. The call is scheduled for 6PM ET and will last for about an hour and a half, so I may have something to post about it later in the evening.

Both calls were arranged by Mike Kaspar of the Able Danger Blog.

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto and Vince Aut Morire.

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February 22, 2006

Fun With StatCounter

How ironic is THIS?


IP Address (removed by Vinnie, cuz I'm nice)
Country Indonesia
Region Jawa Timur (djawa Timur)
City Surabaya
ISP Pt. Telekomunikasi Indonesia
Returning Visits 1
Visit Length 0 seconds

Those are from my stats, not Rusty's though. Still......I got a laugh from it.

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I Am An Old Fart Too

Normally, Derbyshire is a tad glum for me, but I can't disagree with this.

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On Blog Sabbatical

I need a break. Seriously. I'm going to take the next few days off.

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Islam vs. Islamists and ALLIANCES

Bill from INDC has a great post on strategy in winning the war against terror. He's right. Yes, you heard me, he's 100% right. It doesn't mean that my earlier post on Islam as the root ideology which we are fighting is wrong, but only that as a matter of strategy, it is irrelevant.

Muslims are not children. They are adults. As such, they understand that, as I stated in my previous post:

Alliances are relationsips based on mutual interests.

To think of an ally as a friend is to misunderstand the basis of a relationship. Indeed, much political theory has been devoted to arguing that nations cannot have friends, only allies. This is the core of most modern international relations theory, as I understand it, which is rooted in one branch or another of realism.

Neocons, in my view, are just another branch of realism which see the long term interests of the United States being tied to the state of freedom in other countries. So the term "ally" should be a term familiar to them.

Our alliances with any number of Muslim countries are based on our mutual interests. Where those interests end, so too does the alliance. more...

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Why Port Security Matters, and Why Allies are not Friends

Many are now calling our objections to the UAE port deal "knee jerk", "Islamaphobic", a "red herring" or even "racist". I have friends making the argument, so I won't point them out specifically.

Since the last time I checked "Islam" was still not a "race", I will give no space to that silly argument other than to mention that there are millions of Christian Arabs scattered throughout the Middle East.

As for being "Islamaphobic", I'm not exactly sure how one decides which fears are objectively irrational and which fears are not. For my part, given a fairly large body of evidence, I do not believe it is irrational to scrutinize Muslims more closely than Mennonites and Buddhists. And while I'm sure any religion has its share of its fanatics, to claim that Islam has a disproportionate share of them isn't exactly a problematic in my view.

So, to the last objection: that fears over the announcement that a Dubai (UAE) based company would acquire certain ports in the U.S. were "knee jerk" reactions. This objection is related to the two mentioned above. I can draw no other conclusion than to think that such a statement is predicated on the assumption that the "knee jerk" reaction is based on Islamaphobia or hatred of Arabs. I believe I've addressed those two above, and if the reaction is not based on irrational Islamaphobia or racism against Arabs, then why is it "knee jerk"?

The fundamental problem with the White House arguments that the port sale should go through rest on a misperception of the nature of an ally.

Alliances are relationsips based on mutual interests.
more...

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Stand with Denmark, Rally at Danish Embassies

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NY Times Putting Troops in Danger?

CBS finally exercising some editorial discretion. NY Times, though, seems to be passing on information that could be exploited by terrorists to kill our troops in Iraq.

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Forced Abortions for Black People Proposed in Netherlands

I'm sure this won't ever become public policy, but it's scary to think that any one even considered forcing black people to have abortions in the Netherlands.

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Muslim Ambassadors Threaten Denmark Months Ago

If this is diplomatic ship, then where is the Ambassador? Thinly veiled threats are still threats. Clinton Taylor in Townhall:

Nice civilization you got here. ItÂ’d be a shame if something happened to it.

That was the sinister subtext of a letter addressed to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, asking him to “take all those responsible to task under law” for the infamous Mohammed cartoons. The letter is remarkable for when it was sent and for who sent it.

The letter was signed by the eleven ambassadors of Islamic or heavily-Islamic countries. Libya, Algeria, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Palestine, Indonesia, Morocco, and Bosnia-Herzegovina complained about the Jyllands-Posten cartoons on October 12, long before the current round of protests....

Funny how these countries demanding that Denmark crack down on unpopular expression have so much trouble doing so themselves, even when things turn bloody, and even when they see it coming for three months. Not “funny-ha-ha”. The other kind. [Read the rest]

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Virgin Mary South Park Cartoon Sparks Riots (Updated With Offensive Photos)

Updated: I've posted some photos of the Virgin Mary bleeding on the Pope below. I'd suggest not looking if you're Catholic and might be offended. Where are the Catholic riots, anyway? And do Catholics issue death fatwas when they get offended?
----------

Just kidding. No riots, but they did spark protests. You know, a letter writing campaign and a call for a boycott of the specific television station--not the country-- that produced South Park, the U.S.A.

I wonder if the television station showed the controversial Muhammed cartoons, one of the biggest stories of the past few weeks? more...

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WTW WhoÂ’s The Enemy?

I’ve heard some talk lately about the “authoritarian cult”. That’s not referring to the death and destruction of Islam, but to our President and His supporters by our own beloved “Left” right here at home. It’s been said that a requirement of the Right is to blindly follow George W. Bush or for the Left to hate him. The terrorists share your hatred of Bush but lets face it after that they pretty much call America the Great Satan and then cite issues that may be considered traditional Democratic or Leftist issues as not compatible with Islam or outright crimes worthy of the death penalty. They include Women’s rights, civil Rights, Equal treatment based on religion, Humane Punishment and Gay rights. Must I go on! The list is endless when you think about it. We on the Right or moderates among us are not authoritarian at all. In fact we have been fighting for the left’s right to fight for their issues too. For instance see how the religion of peace stopped Gays from marching in Russia.

Here are your White Trash Wednesday bloggers more...

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UAE Port Deal Argument A Red Herring

The squabble over whether or not to allow a United Arab Emirates company control over shipping operations at six major US seaports is a red herring. The real issue is the shameful state of port security, part of an overall slackening of security measures.

Following 9/11 a wave of public outrage forced the formation of the Transportation Security Administration to replace private security firms at the nation's airports. The plan then was for the TSA to live up to the ""transportation" part of its title and eventually take over security at seaports, railroad stations, bus stations...everywhere that mass transit operated. more...

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Terrorists Blow up Shiite Shrine in Iraq

Tragic. Many Sunni terrorists have declared all Shia apostates--the penalty for apostasy under traditional Islam is death--thus justifying their acts of terror.

NY Times:

Insurgents dressed as police commandos detonated powerful explosives on Wednesday morning inside one of Shiite IslamÂ’s most sacred shrines, destroying most of the building, located in the volatile town of Samarra, and prompting thousands of Shiites to flood into streets across the country in protest.

The golden-domed shrine housed the tombs of two revered leaders of Shiite Islam and symbolized the place where the Imam Mahdi, a mythical, messianic figure, disappeared from this earth. Believers in the imam say he will return when the apocalypse is near, to cleanse the world of its evils.

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Hitchens Looking for a Few Good Folks to Stand With the Danes (UPDATED)

Christopher Hitchens at Slate is a favorite read of mine, though I often disagree with him. Hitchens is looking for people to join him in standing in solidarity with the Danes:

I feel terrible that I have taken so long to get around to this, but I wonder if anyone might feel like joining me in gathering outside the Danish Embassy in Washington, in a quiet and composed manner, to affirm some elementary friendship. Those who like the idea might contact me at christopher.hitchens@yahoo.com, and those who live in other cities with Danish consulates might wish to initiate a stand for decency on their own account.
I'm going to drop him a note to see when he's planning this. Sounds like it's worth a road trip.

UPDATE:
Hitchens has updated his post with the details:

Update, Feb. 22: Thank you all who've written. Please be outside the Embassy of Denmark, 3200 Whitehaven Street (off Massachusetts Avenue) between noon and 1 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 24. Quietness and calm are the necessities, plus cheerful conversation. Danish flags are good, or posters reading "Stand By Denmark" and any variation on this theme (such as "Buy Carlsberg/ Havarti/ Lego") The response has been astonishing and I know that the Danes are appreciative. But they are an embassy and thus do not of course endorse or comment on any demonstration. Let us hope, however, to set a precedent for other cities and countries. Please pass on this message to friends and colleagues.
That's too short a trigger for me to attend, as I had hoped, but if you're in the area...

Via Michelle Malkin.

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto and Vince Aut Morire.

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February 21, 2006

Sitemeter Woes

Am I the only one having problems with Sitemeter? It's not showing up on my webpages.

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Hot Muslim Singer Gets Death Threats

deeyah_video_bikini.jpgWhy? Because she's hot. She also openly criticizes Islamic countries for thier treatment of women. She's also hot. Did I mention that she was hot?

Now this is the kind of Muslim that I could really get into!


Via Mac Powell at ITB this from Contact Music:

Muslim pop star DEEYAH is facing death threats because her raunchy new music video sees her strip off a burka (burqa) to reveal her bikini-clad body.

Deeyah claims the video for WHAT WILL IT BE? deals with Muslim womenÂ’s rights and female empowerment as it also features Muslim women who have fought for freedom of expression.

That's how you fight Islamic fascism--by taking off your clothes!!! Who am I to argue with that?

At first glance it's just another pop video, but take a closer look. There are not so subtle visual references to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's movie Submission.

From her My Space website:

"Because of her bold stance on Muslim women's rights, Deeyah has received more death threats than 50 Cent", says one UK journalist. "Despite the continuous abuse and death threats, Deeyah remains defiant against prejudice and discrimination on all levels--especially towards women.
You can watch the video that caused the death threats here.

And just because we know this will piss some people off, below are a few images of Deeyah. All of them are from the controversial video, except the last one. I just like that one for some reason. more...

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