robwoolford.com

Jammie Thomas, a single mother of two, was found liable Thursday for copyright infringement in the nation’s first file-sharing case to go before a jury.

Twelve jurors here said the Minnesota woman must pay $9,250 for each of 24 shared songs that were the subject of the lawsuit, amounting to $222,000 in penalties.

They could have dinged her for up to $3.6 million in damages, or awarded as little as $18,000. She was found liable for infringing songs from bands such as Journey, Green Day, Aerosmith and others.

After the verdict was read, Thomas and her attorney left the courthouse without comment. The jurors also declined to talk to reporters.

The verdict, coming after two days of testimony and about five hours of deliberations, was a mixed victory for the RIAA, which has brought more than 20,000 lawsuits in the last four years as part of its zero-tolerance policy against pirating. The outcome is likely to embolden the RIAA, which began targeting individuals in lawsuits after concluding the legal system could not keep pace with the ever growing number of file-sharing sites and services.

“This is what can happen if you don’t settle,” RIAA attorney Richard Gabriel told reporters outside the courthouse. “I think we have sent a message we are willing to go to trial.”

Still, it’s unlikely the RIAA’s courtroom victory will translate into a financial windfall or stop piracy, which the industry claims costs it billions in lost sales. Despite the thousands of lawsuits — the majority of them settling while others have been dismissed or are pending — the RIAA’s litigation war on internet piracy has neither dented illegal, peer-to-peer file sharing or put much fear in the hearts of music swappers.

According to BigChampagne, an online measuring service, the number of peer-to-peer users unlawfully trading goods has nearly tripled since 2003, when the RIAA began legal onslaught targeting individuals.

At the time, BigChampagne says, there were about 3.8 million file sharers trading over the internet at a given moment. Now, the group has measured a record 9 million users trading at the same time. Roughly 70 percent of trading involves digital music, according to BigChampagne.

The case, however, did set legal precedents favoring the industry.

In proving liability, the industry did not have to demonstrate that the defendant’s computer had a file-sharing program installed at the time that they inspected her hard drive. And the RIAA did not have to show that the defendant was at the keyboard when RIAA investigators accessed Thomas’ share folder.

Also, the judge in the case ruled that jurors may find copyright infringement liability against somebody solely for sharing files on the internet. The RIAA did not have to prove that others downloaded the files. That was a big bone of contention that U.S. District Judge Michael Davis settled in favor of the industry.

Thomas, 30, maintained that she was not the Kazaa user “Tereastarr,” whose files were detected by RIAA’s investigators. Her attorney speculated to jurors that she could have been the victim of a spoof, cracker, zombie, drone and other attacks.

The jury found her liable after receiving evidence her internet protocol address and cable modem identifier were used to share some 1,700 files. The hard drive linked to Kazaa on Feb. 21, 2005 — the evening in question — did not become evidence in the case.

According to testimony, Thomas replaced her hard drive weeks after RIAA investigators accessed her share file and discovered 1,702 files. The industry sued on just 24 of those files.

Damn.

$220,000 (£110,000?) for 24 songs… I can’t think of 24 songs that I would pay £110,000 for. And I can’t help but feel that fine is a little bit over the top…

Let this be a lesson to you all. If the RIAA come knocking at your door, a) don’t answer, or b) settle - haggle them down, but when they say “court or settlement” take the damn settlement.

£110,000 for 24 songs… That’s like the most expensive double disc album in history.

:/

Part One:

A US judge is suing a dry cleaners for losing his trousers — for more than US$65 million.

Roy Pearson started legal action claiming Custom Cleaners lost a pair of suit trousers he took in for $10 alterations two years ago.

The cleaners’ lawyers offered to pay Pearson, an administrative law judge for the District of Columbia, as much as $12,000 to end the row.

But astonishingly Pearson is pressing ahead through the courts with the unbelievable claim for $65,462,500. (more…)

This is exactly how it looks. A swing. 1,100ft in the air.

Taken from Ananova.com:

The world’s highest swing has been set up on an 1,100ft TV tower in China.

The swing is set on a 700ft high viewing platform on the tower in Harbin city, Heilongjiang province.

Participants sit on the steel seat and swing out over the city, beyond the edge of the platform.

The swing is called “Game for brave people”, reports Harbin Daily.

The tower is the world’s second-highest steel tower, after the Kiev tower in Ukraine.

That is some scary shit. Good view though…

Taken from bbc.co.uk:

Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton has been jailed for 45 days after being found guilty of violating her probation for a drink-driving conviction.

A Los Angeles judge ruled she must start her sentence on 5 June and has no prospect of an early release.

Ms Hilton told the judge she was very sorry and that she would “pay complete attention to everything” from now on.

The socialite said she did not know her licence had been suspended when caught driving without headlights in February.

According to papers filed in Los Angeles’ Superior Court, Ms Hilton was stopped by California Highway Patrol officers on 15 January and informed she was driving on a suspended licence.

The 26-year-old then reportedly signed a document acknowledging she was not allowed to drive.

On 27 February, she was stopped by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for speeding on Sunset Boulevard with her car’s headlights off and charged with violating her probation.

Although Ms Hilton maintained she was not aware her licence had been suspended, court papers said the document she signed in January was found in her car’s glove compartment.

She was also accused of failing to enrol in an alcohol education programme by a court-ordered deadline.

Late entrance

Ms Hilton was sentenced to three years’ probation, fined $1,150 (£582), and lost her licence at the end of January after pleading no contest to a drink driving charge in September.

Despite prosecutors saying the heiress deserved a jail sentence prior to Friday’s hearing, Ms Hilton arrived at the court at least 10 minutes late.

One of the world’s most photographed women, her arrival attracted a swarm of paparazzi at a courthouse whose most glamorous work usually consists of dealing with parking fines.

Her mother, Kathy, laughed when the demand for a custodial sentence was made during the prosecution’s closing argument and asked Judge Michael Sauer for his autograph.

“I’m very sorry and from now on I’m going to pay complete attention to everything,” Ms Hilton told the court before she was sentenced.

“I’m sorry and I did not do it on purpose at all,” she said. But the judge was unmoved.

The 26-year-old heiress wept when the ruling was announced, and her mother shouted at the prosecutor: “You’re pathetic.”

One of Ms Hilton’s lawyers said the jail sentence was unfair.

“To sentence Paris Hilton to 45 days in jail to me was uncalled for, inappropriate and bordered on the ludicrous. I think she was singled out because she’s who she is,” Howard Weitzman said.

If Ms Hilton does not report to jail on 5 June she will face 90 days behind bars.

Ms Hilton, heiress to the Hilton Hotel fortune, first gained notoriety for her constant partying as a teenager.

The BBC’s David Willis says the austere surrounding of the all-women’s detention centre will be a far cry from the five-star luxury the hotel heiress has become used to.

What her fellow inmates will make of her, and she of them, remains to be seen, our correspondent says.

Seems everybody on the net is talking/writing about this at the moment. It’s certainly put a smile on my face. She’s been swanning around doing whatever she likes for years now, and it seems atleast once a month we get a story saying she’s been stopped by police for whatever reason… hopefully that will stop now. I’m sick of reading of ‘celebrities’ who have never actually done anything useful with their lives.

Will be interesting to see the state of Hilton’s prison, and how long she actually serves.

One of my favourite things about the internet is reading the quirky and strange daily news stories from around the world. Today I found this:

A Syrian-born airline pilot allegedly tricked a schoolteacher from Haverfordwest into having sex with him by pretending he had to administer ointment on the end of his penis, a jury heard yesterday (Tuesday).

Fadi Sbano, 38, even pretended to know a gynaecologist who advised him on how often to have intercourse with her and whether to thrust “slowly or quickly”. And, on the “doctor’s advice”, he kept a clock on the bedside table to time the sessions.

The teacher put up with the treatment for nine months before telling her doctor.

Huw Rees, prosecuting, told Swansea crown court: “The allegations here are of rape by deception.”

Mr Rees said the pair met while Sbano was based at Gatwick and the teacher was working nearby.

In November, 2000, she discovered a rash of white spots and feared that typhoid, which she contracted on holiday some years before, had returned.

Sbano claimed he was in talks with a gynaecologist who was anxious for a certain cream to be applied, the prosecutor said.

“He (Sbano) suggested he would apply the cream to his penis and apply it inside her.

Mr Rees said the woman found the sessions “Clinical, not at all erotic”. She consented only because she believed it was a proper treatment.

“When the insertions took place, and depending on the instructions of his friend, he would thrust slowly or quickly for anything from one to ten minutes,”

Her doctor told her to find out the identity of Sbano’s gynaecologist friend but he “became evasive and never gave his name” beyond the word “Ibby”.

“It began to dawn on her that he had devised this treatment in order to have sex with her on his terms.”

Mr Rees said “Ibby” was traced but said he knew nothing about the treatment.

Sbano was arrested at Heathrow while attending a pilots’ training facility.

He claimed the woman had invented the entire story about the “treatment”.

Sbano, from Harrow, London, denies nine charges of rape and 11 or obtaining money by deception.

The trial continues.

Surely, when he proposed the idea of inserting the cream she would have stopped him and said “can’t I do this myself? or with a boyfriend/husband? why do you have to use your penis?” and why the hell is she taking medical tips from a pilot anyway? when you combine those two questions you’re left with the conclusion that this woman is an idiot. She should be locked up with the pilot. What a ridiculous trial…

NEW YORK — Nas has already had an active 2007. He’s still releasing singles from Hip Hop Is Dead, he’s hitting the road for a 26-date tour and he’s planning to release his next album in the summer or fall.

But there’s one part of the year he’d rather just forget. His wife, singer Kelis, was arrested a couple of weeks ago in Miami after shouting at undercover police officers (see “Kelis Charged With Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest”). Nas simply shrugged the incident off with a chuckle.

“It’s a lot of sh– out there circulating about her that she finds pretty funny,” the MC said Thursday. “It’ll be cleared up soon.”

Nas is escaping the drama by getting back in the studio this week, and this time all bets are off. If you can’t keep up with his lyrical content, that’s on you.

“I’m looking forward to having a summer or fall release,” Nas said. “But summer, that’s the time of the year I wanna crack it open. I’m having such a good time. Like I said years ago, it’s about having fun now. I’m having such a good time, and with the music, I’ve gotten ahead of myself. I’m just trying to share that with the people now. Because the way I’ve been feeling after I did [Hip Hop Is Dead], I wanted it to flow a lot freer. I had to get some sh– off my chest about hip-hop being dead. I know I was gonna be over n—as’ heads with the title, so I didn’t want to just leave n—as and they couldn’t catch up. Now I don’t care if they don’t catch up. I don’t care. I’m all the way gone. When I do this next sh–, I’m outta here. I’m not holding back on this one.

“I did what I had to do,” he added. “I’m free with it. I’ve got the fame, I’ve had the paper for over a decade. I got the love. A n—a is just flying free and having a bunch of fun. I’m getting my greedy on this year and having a ball. I’m getting my greedy on in a good way, though. I’m having fun. I’m like, ‘Could it get any better?’ In life, you got ups and downs. I’m enjoying the ups.”

Nas’ transition to the next album is definitely not going to be a swift one (see ” ‘Nas King Cole’ Shoots ‘Unforgettable’ Clip, Preps New Album For ‘07″). He said he’s not done with Hip Hop Is Dead yet. There are still a few songs that he wants to get a big look before he closes it out.

“We’re getting ready to shoot the next video now,” he said. “I got two directors working on two songs. I don’t know which [song] is coming first, so I don’t want to say what’s coming first, but it’s ‘Black Republican’ and ‘Hustlers.’ It’s looking good. It’s looking larger than life. It feels good. I’m probably going to get another single after the next two. ‘Cause usually I drop two singles and I’m out of your face until the next album. But I’m getting so many requests to release so many different singles, so I’m gonna try to give this one life before the next one comes out. You gonna probably see a flurry of sh– right before the next album, just so I got it all off on this album.”

Esco will hit the road in the next few weeks in support of Hip Hop Is Dead and his whole legacy. He’ll be by himself, so he says there will be plenty of time to run through his catalog on the One Man, One Mic, One Night Tour. “My underground hits are way stronger than all my singles have ever been,” he said. “But I never been able to [perform] them all because my singles would pull in a certain crowd that only wanted to hear the singles. This type of show is mainly about my street hits — my ‘hood anthems.

“I just picked good times to go out in the past,” he added about previous outings. “But it’s been a long time since I did a long, extensive run. It was time to get my weight up on a run this year. The sh– is different because the way I’m laying it out is different. I’ve had a format with the way I laid it out for a long time, but I’m switching it up. So since I’m one of the guys that’s lucky enough to have a serious catalog, you have to give the people what they haven’t heard in years. It could really be their sh–. It could be the song that they played at their man’s funeral or their man’s wedding. Just songs to take you back. That’s the type of records I’m trying to pull out.”

Nas’ tour starts March 31 in Pittsburgh and ends May 3 in San Francisco. Also coming this year is the MTV reality show “Mr. and Mrs. Jones,” which will feature the legendary MC and Kelis.

Source: http://www.mtv.com

\o/ video for Black Republicans \o/
\o/ new Nas album for 2007 \o/
\o/ Nas is going on tour \o/
\o/ Nas show on MTV \o/
\o/ Kelis got arrested \o/

Taken from Ananova.com:

Season ticket gaffe

A Man Utd fan’s wife gave her hubby a £550 season ticket - four months after the Premiership kicked off.

She bought it last year but didn’t hand it to him until his 40th birthday earlier this month, reports the Sun.

Her blunder meant the fan missed 11 games. To make matters worse, she also bought her son a junior ticket.

A United supporter who sits near the man at Old Trafford said: “A few of us noticed the seats were empty.

“His wife mustn’t know much about football. He must be gutted.”

Wow. Just wow. Despite the fact its a gift, I’d still have to hit the woman.

And in other stupid news, also from Ananova:

Tattooist sued over penis prank

An Argentinean football fan is suing a tattooist who drew a penis on his back instead of his favourite team’s badge.

The teenager, who cannot be named, asked to have the Boca Juniors logo on his back.

But the tattoo artist was a supporter of rival team River Plate and decided to have some fun at his young customer’s expense.

The victim told Terra Argentina: “I could not see what he was tattooing because he didn’t have a mirror. I only saw it when I got home and showed it to my parents.”

A police spokesperson said: “The tattooist supports Boca Junior’s rival, River Plate, so he got annoyed when the teenager asked him to tattoo Boca’s symbol and decided to tattoo a penis instead. Unbelievable!”

Again, all I can say is wow.