Archive for the 'Commentary' Category

Yahoo Mail is Censoring Emails About #OccupyWallStreet (UPDATE: Yahoo responds)

Any time you try to send an email from Yahoo Mail with the text string “occupywallst.org” in it, it will be blocked from being sent due to “suspicious activity”.

What.

I first heard about this from this post, and as you can see in the video, I can confirm that it is, indeed, happening. David, our Chief Operating Plankhead, also confirms that this is happening from his Yahoo account.

UPDATE: Another good example courtesy of slybster. This one’s a bit clearer:

UPDATE 9/20 2:56 PM EST: @Yahoo tweeted:

Thanks to @YahooMail users & @ThinkProgress for catching problem w/ #Occupywallst.org mail. Prob is fixed, but there may be residual delays.

I figured it would end up being explained as a bug. But that’s a really weird bug. I think we need more of an explanation, Yahoo.

    How to Record a Google+ Hangout on Mac OS X For Free With Free Software

    I’ve seen a lot of tutorials and suggestions for recording a Google+ Hangout. All the ones I’ve seen run into one or more of these problems:

    • They require you to buy software or monkey around with a shitty trial version
    • They require Windows
    • They produce low quality video and/or audio
    • They don’t let you capture the sound of you talking and everybody else

    So, here’s a method that solves all of those issues, as long as you’re running Mac OS X Snow Leopard or later.
    Continue reading ‘How to Record a Google+ Hangout on Mac OS X For Free With Free Software’

      Chad Love-Liberman’s Art4Love is a Fraudulent Plagiarism Peddler

      In case I haven’t made it clear over the years, I’m not a big fan of the copyright-lawsuit model of enforcing artists’ rights. When somebody decides to be a dick and exploit the free availability of culture in bad faith, I feel like it’s much better to try them in the court of public opinion than in a court of law. So let’s do that to Chad Love-Lieberman.

      Art4Love.com seems to have been around since March 2010, according to the first tweet on its Twitter account. It’s a store claiming to sell hand-painted canvas art, founded by Love-Lieberman as some kind of social capitalism thing. I have no idea; it’s a press release.

      Art4Love and the related MarkYourSpot.com appear to have been taken down as of this writing. So let’s Streisand Effect this shit.

      Yesterday, Digger artist Ursula Vernon posted on her LiveJournal a link to an article about Love-Lieberman and his “artwork”. She found it odd that this piece was attributed to him:

      'Naked Mole Rat Dreams' by Ursula Vernon

      It is, of course, by Ursula Vernon. And all of the other pieces in the article are by other artists from around the Internet as well.

      Unsurprisingly, as uncovered by Tumblr user Kittenball, Art4Love was similarly fraudulent.

      Screenshot of Art4Love.com, captured by Daunt


      This screenshot shows Art4Love allegedly selling “Honeycomb” by Julie Dillon. They claim that it’s “Liquid Oil on canvas”, and was painted in 2009.

      'Honeycomb' by Julie Dillon


      This seems odd, considering the fact that Dillon uploaded the piece to deviantART in 2010, under the category of “Digital Art”.

      Hilariously, Art4Love was offering the “painting” with a Certificate of Authenticity.

      Tumblr user Daunt has many more screenshots and videos related to Art4Love on her website. Many show more examples of misappropriated artwork, being sold as “original” for high prices.

      It’s likely that Chad Love-Lieberman took down his network of websites because he doesn’t want this information getting out. This is precisely why it must. The threat of a copyright lawsuit does not protect the rights of artists to attribution and reputation; otherwise this never would have happened. The exposure of such exploitation on a massive scale is the best hope that artists have to be protected from it. Please, Internets: spread the fraud of Chad Love-Lieberman as far and wide as you can. Make his name synonymous with his crimes, so that anyone looking to commit such things in the future will think twice.

      To the artists affected: don’t call this man an “art thief”. Art thieves are skilled, savvy professionals who bypass state-of-the-art museum security. Chad Love-Lieberman is just a plagiarist. And a dick.

        Four Wise Men and a Tsunami — A Parable

        There once lived four wise men on a small island in the sea. Each wise man believed in a different philosophy, and lived according to his own personal ideals. One day, an earthquake shook the seas around the island, and sent an enormous tsunami barreling towards its shore.

        The first wise man screamed, stood up, and ran. He ran and ran to the top of the highest mountain on the island, and hid in a cave at the summit. In the darkness of the cave, he did not see that the tsunami was taller than the mountain, and that he was not safe.

        When the wave hit the shore, the first wise man died, cowering and terrified.

        The second wise man laughed pompously at the wave. He gathered every piece of wood, stone, and shell he could find on the beach, and began to construct a wall to stop the wave, and hold it back from engulfing the island. The tsunami approached, and was soon mere meters away. The second wise man’s wall was barely a foot high.

        When the wave hit the shore, the second wise man died, humiliated by his defeat.

        The third wise man grumbled, and did not move from his seat. He closed his eyes and covered his ears, so that he would not notice the wave approaching. He occasionally relented, opening his eyes for a moment to see the tsunami continuing its approach, before cursing under his breath and shutting himself from reality once more.

        When the wave hit the shore, the third wise man died, bitter and angry.

        The fourth wise man was barely a man at all, being the youngest of the four. He fashioned a surfboard out of a palm tree, and ran out into the ocean. He swam atop his board out to meet the wave head-on, and at last, finally reached it. He stood up atop his board and allowed the wave to carry him, at thrilling, breakneck speed, sending adrenaline rushing through his veins.

        When the wave hit the shore, the fourth wise man died, an elated smile on his face.

          How the Wolf Got His Assault Rifle — A Children’s Fable About Gun Control

          Once upon a time, in a Magical Forest, there lived a friendly Wolf. Wolf was a model citizen of the Magical Forest, and was always nice, kind, and neighborly to his fellow animals. Wolf was also very enthusiastic about firearms, and owned lots and lots of them. He liked to take his guns out to a big clearing in the middle of the forest and try to shoot apples off of the big tree stump from very, very far away.

          But Wolf was always very careful with his guns; he made sure never to turn the safety off or put any ammunition in them unless they were pointed downrange, and that no other animals were standing near the big tree stump. He always locked up his guns in a great big secure closet in his den, and never, ever shared the key with any other animal. He also made sure to never, ever, ever unlock his gun closet if he were feeling angry or upset, or if he’d eaten any magical mushrooms less than four hours prior.

          One day, Wolf decided he wanted to buy the most awesome new gun he’d ever seen. It was a high-powered rifle which could fire 800 rounds per minute in fully-automatic mode, and could take magazines with 60 whole rounds inside them. This gun was epically badass, and Wolf knew he’d enjoy having it very much. But because it was so ridiculously badass and awesome, Wolf realized that he would need to get permission from Owl, the leader of the Magical Forest.
          Continue reading ‘How the Wolf Got His Assault Rifle — A Children’s Fable About Gun Control’