Copyright Hypocrisy and the Assault on the Internet (tags)
When the producers of the hit film "The Adjustment Bureau" tried to stiff the daughters of Philip K. Dick, who wrote the story on which the film was based, out of their rights payments on the ground that the story's copyright was invalid, they unwittingly exposed the hypocrisy surrounding the entertainment industry's aggressive attempts to stop so-called "Internet piracy." Bills like the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) in the House and PROTECT IP in the Senate would destroy Internet freedom and turn ISP's into content police in the name of continuing a copyright system that is no longer technologically sustainable.
San Diego Hammers Down on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, Despite Public Support (tags)
Despite overwhelming public input asking for a looser ordinance that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries to locate in commercial areas throughout San Diego and remain open while they pursued permits, the San Diego City Council voted 5-2 on Monday, March 26 for an ordinance that will close down all dispensaries for at least a year and force them to locate only in industrial zones — inconveniently far from the patients they serve. Even most of the Councilmembers who voted for the ordinance, which was tweaked at the last minute to make it slightly less restrictive, made it clear that they regard medical marijuana patients and the institutions that serve them as a detriment, not an asset, to the city.
Anti-Proposition 8 Protests in San Diego (tags)
The statewide wave of protests against the passage of anti-Queer, anti-marriage, anti-family Proposition 8 hit San Diego November 7 and 8 with a nighttime rally in Balboa Park November 7 and a march from Hillcrest to North Park, through San Diego's most Queer neighborhoods, the next day.