Berkman Buzz: week of March 2

BERKMAN BUZZ: A look at the past week's online Berkman conversations
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School
Week of March 2, 2007

What's going on... take your pick or browse below.

*Ethan Zuckerman discusses rappers and bloggers in Senegal politics.
*Chilling Effects considers implications of RIAA appeal.
*Derek Slater supports Fair Use Act.
*Global Voices offers international perspectives on ICJ verdict.
*David Weinberger summarizes Matthew Pearl talk.
*Lawrence Lessig takes on C-SPAN & Speaker Pelosi.
*David Winer contemplates preserving one's web presence.

The full Buzz:

“There weren’t any Senegalese bloggers (that I know about) writing prior to Wade’s election in 2000… but there were hundreds of hip hop crews, many of whom were involved in Wade’s election. Wade had served as the head of the Senegalese opposition when Abdou Diouf ruled the nation and had served time in Besançon prison for his political actions. He was a rallying figure for disillusioned youth, and much of the hip hop music produced around the time of the 2000 elections supported political change in general and Wade specifically. …”
Ethan Zuckerman, “Democracy in Dakar”
 
“In a move to alleviate some of the damage done to its future prospects of winning on file sharing infringement cases, the RIAA decided to appeal the attorneys’ fees awarded to the prevailing defendant in a copyright infringement claim. The RIAA sued Debbie Foster in November 2004 because file-sharing activity was found on an IP address assigned to an internet account in her name. (Capitol v. Foster) It was quickly discovered that it was actually Debbie’s adult daughter, Amanda, who was doing the infringing, and Debbie had no knowledge of the activity. …”
Chilling Effects, “RIAA Refuses to Share Even After Verdict in Defendant’s Favor”

“[T]he bill would loosen the grip of the DMCA, which restricts circumvention of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions even for lawful uses. The FAIR Use Act adds 12 exemptions, including the ability to circumvent for classic fair use purposes like news reporting, research, commentary, and criticism. Broader DMCA and copyright reform remains absolutely necessary, but if passed, this bill would be a big first step in the right direction. …”
Derek Slater, “Support the Fair Use Act”

"On Monday, after nearly ten months of deliberation, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre was an act of genocide, but that the pattern of the atrocities committed by Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-1995 war (which claimed more than 100,000 lives) was “too broad” to qualify for the definition of genocide. The ICJ also decided there was no sufficient evidence to pin the blame on Serbia. Below is a selection of responses to the ICJ verdict by the Balkan and international bloggers writing in English. …”
Global Voices, “The Balkans: Bloggers Discuss the ICJ Verdict”

“Matthew says that we should learn at how we're creating our own narrative of piracy. E.g., the FBI warning at the beginning of DVDs even though copying a DVD for your own use is legal. E.g., Disney recently bought the copyright to Oswald the Rabbit (its pre-Mickey character) even though Oswald's first three cartoons are out of copyright and thus Oswald is out of copyright; Disney is shaping the narrative. Google Books is now also trying to shape the narrative. …”
David Weinberger, “Matthew Pearl”

"Many of us believe that if C-Span wants to exercise control over the stuff it films — as it has in many documentaries I have helped with — then it’s time we find someone else to build a Congressional Record that “the people” can use. Carl [Malamud] has been building a hack to do just that. ..."
Lawrence Lessig, "Another Really Important Announcement: This One by Carl"

"No one really likes to think about dying, but it comes for everyone, eventually, and if you're living a creative life, as so many of us are these days, maybe you'd like your creations to live at least a little bit longer than you do? Look at it another way, suppose there's a James Thurber, Mark Twain or Truman Capote or George Harrison among us, wouldn't that person likely be creating on the web, and shouldn't their work last longer than their own lives? ..."
David Winer, "Preserving Ideas"