Paszkiewicz has Matthew LaClair removed from his class

The latest news from Kearny High School, via Kevin Canessa at the Observer, is that David Paszkiewicz has removed what he sees as the source of his problems from his classroom by switching classes with another teacher. Now, Debbie Vartan teaches Paszkiewicz's class and vice versa. Principal Alfred Somma confirms that Paszkiewicz requested the switch.

Apparently the ban on classroom recordings wasn't enough--Paszkiewicz must realize that Matthew LaClair has more credibility than he does with the mainstream media, and his presence in the classroom was cramping his style.

Here's hoping that there's someone who was in Debbie Vartan's class who's got as much integrity and brains as Matthew LaClair, and who will keep the public informed of any further misrepresentations or Establishment clause violations in Paszkiewicz's classroom.

Warner Music: we'd rather go out of business than give customers what they want

After Steve Jobs said that he'd prefer to have the iTunes store sell DRM-free music, but is forced into DRM by the music labels, Edgar Bronfman of Warner Music said that his company will have nothing to do with DRM-free music:

"We advocate the continued use of DRM," Bronfman said, adding that music deserves the same anti-piracy protections as software, TV broadcasts, video games and other forms of intellectual property. "We will not abandon DRM nor services that are successfully implementing DRM for both content and consumers."

This quote appeared in an article reporting Warner's dismal results:

its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 74% because of fewer album releases and soft domestic and European sales. Its shares fell nearly 6%.

The New York-based recording company said net income for the period that ended Dec. 31 declined to $18 million, or 12 cents a share, from $69 million, or 46 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 11% to $928 million.

The competition at EMI, however, feels differently:

Music label EMI Group is in talks to release a large portion of its music catalog for Web sales without technological protections against piracy that are included in most music bought over the Internet now, sources said on Thursday.
...
One source familiar with the matter said that EMI was in talks to release a large amount of its music in an unprotected MP3 format to various online retailers.

EMI's plans apparently include talks with Shawn Fanning's SnoCap about releasing MP3-format music through MySpace.

Which company is more likely to still be in business under the same management ten years from now?

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The RIAA doesn't understand economics

The Recording Industry Association of America has a web page arguing that we're all getting a fantastic deal on compact discs because, if they had gone up in price along with the Consumer Price Index, they'd be over $33 each. As Ben Woods points out, by that same argument Texas Instruments calculators that cost $20 in the mid-1980s should have cost over $300.

In fact, the recording labels engaged in price fixing, by setting "minimum advertised pricing" on CD retailers, which caused prices to stop their downward trend in 1996--and causing a decline in sales as prices increased.

If you want to sell more CDs, lower the price.

(Via Techdirt.)

UPDATE (February 9, 2007): This post at kuro5hin from January 2003 on "RIAA vs. MP3 vs. Adam Smith" addresses compact disc pricing and demand.

UPDATE (February 10, 2007): And this post at Techdirt reports on a study that shows no measurable effect on CD sales from online downloads (as opposed to, say, CD prices).

Selling nothing for something

Long or Short Capital reports that:

[Conceptual] artist Jonathon Keats has digitally generated a span of silence, four minutes and thirty-three seconds in length, portable enough to be carried on a cellphone. His silent ringtone… is expected to bring quiet to the lives of millions of cellphone users, as well as those close to them.

Given the duration of the ringtone, Keats should expect to get sued by the estate of John Cage for copyright infringement.

McCain proposes an unfunded mandate for ISPs

Declan McCullagh at News.com reports that Sen. John McCain is preparing to hold a press conference with John Walsh of America's Most Wanted and Miss America 2007 to announce a bill that will create a new mandate for Internet Service Providers to eavesdrop on all of their customers email and web traffic in search of child porn images. The act apparently requires ISPs to implement new technology to compare all images transmitted or received by their customers to a federal database of images (presumably via some one-way hash function, so that the database is not itself distributing child pornography), and to report any that are detected to John Walsh's National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that operates as a clearinghouse/proxy for federal and state law enforcement with Congressional mandate and federal funding.

The new bill is known as the Securing Adolescents From Exploitation Online or SAFE Act, and is not to be confused with the 2003 SAFE Act (Security and Freedom Ensured), the 1997 SAFE Act (Security and Freedom through Encryption), or the 1998 SAFE Act (Safety Advancement For Employees).

Happy 10th birthday, Shelby

Today is our dog Shelby's 10th birthday (that's 70 to you and me). She's a Queensland Heeler/Border Collie/Chow/who knows what.

Unmarried partnership benefits overturned in Michigan

As the result of a lawsuit in Michigan based on its 2004 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that domestic partnership benefits in negotiated contracts with public employee's unions are null and void.

The 2004 amendment was written by Citizens for the Protection of Marriage, who wrote in a pamphlet at the time that:

Proposal 2 is Only about marriage. Marriage is a union between husband and wife. Proposal 2 will keep it that way. This is not about rights or benefits or how people choose to live their lives. This has to do with family, children and the way people are. It merely settles the question once and for all what marriage is-for families today and future generations.

The Alliance Defense Fund, which backed the similar constitutional amendment here in Arizona, has made similar statements.

Yet it was Patrick Gillen of the Thomas More Law Center who wrote the amendment for CfPM, and he was also behind the lawsuit that eliminated partnership benefits.

Clearly, these people cannot be trusted, and Arizona was wise to reject the similar constitutional amendment here.

UPDATE (May 14, 2008): The Michigan Supreme Court has upheld the denial of domestic partnership benefits as a result of their 2004 constitutional amendment.

UPDATE (November 16, 2008): Patrick Gillen was also lead counsel for the Dover Area School District in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case, in which he defended the failed attempt to inject intelligent design into the public schools.

Animal rescue awards and recognition events

Arizona R.E.S.C.U.E. had its annual awards picnic on Saturday at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, at which Karen Currie was named volunteer of the year. Kat and I received Cornerstone Awards for our volunteer work in dog fostering and caretaking roles, which was unexpected but gratifying. R.E.S.C.U.E. is always looking for additional volunteers to assist with a variety of activities for the support of both dogs and cats.

Next Saturday, we'll be attending the Arizona Humane Society's annual donor recognition brunch. We're looking forward to hearing what AHS has planned for the coming year. Where R.E.S.C.U.E. has been around for twelve years and operates on a tiny budget and emphasizes quality adoptions over quantity, AHS turns 50 this year, has a multi-million dollar annual budget, two impressive large facilities in Phoenix, and is able to perform a wide variety of services including mobile emergency animal medical services (which can be seen on television on Animal Planet's "Animal Planet Heroes Phoenix" series).

Keith Henson arrested in Prescott, Arizona

Scientology critic Keith Henson was arrested on Friday evening in Prescott, Arizona. Henson had been a fugitive since his conviction in Riverside County, California on April 26, 2001, on charges of interfering with a religion for his picketing of Scientology in Hemet, California and online jokes about a "[Tom] Cruise missile." Henson was sentenced to six months in prison, but he fled to Ontario, Canada, where he unsuccessfully sought asylum as a victim of religious persecution. His application for refugee status was rejected in 2004, and he voluntarily left the country in September 2005, and has apparently been living in Arizona.

Henson's arrest has also been covered by the 10 Zen Monkeys blog and Sentient Developments blog.

UPDATE (February 7, 2007): Declan McCullagh has reported more details at News.com. Henson's bond was raised from $7,500 to $500,000 at the request of prosecutors, then reduced back to $5,000. He was released from jail Monday night, and must appear for an extradition hearing on March 5. He is being defended by a local libertarian of my acquaintance, Michael Kielsky.

UPDATE (February 9, 2007): For a deeper look at exactly what caused Keith Henson to be convicted on a misdemeanor charge, see this ex-Scientologist's web page of postings from Henson and Scientology critic Diane Richardson. Diane Richardson is a meticulously accurate critic who has come under fire from fellow critics for negative posts about critics rather than restricting her focus to Scientology. While I've disagreed with her from time to time, when it comes to facts she is quite reliable. She is, as am I, a skeptic of claims of "cult mind control."

UPDATE (March 27, 2008): I'm quite remiss in updating this. Keith Henson was extradited to Riverside, California, after his hearings were delayed into May 2007, where he was jailed on August 11. He was subsequently released from jail in September and is now a free man.

UPDATE (July 7, 2008): Keith served four months of a 180-day (six-month) sentence, and is currently on probation. The Riverside County Superior Court website lists the terms of his probation:

Case HEM014371 Defendant 547981 HENSON, KEITH

Probation Type: SUMMARY

Granted: 05/30/2007

Expire: 05/29/2010

SUMMARY PROBATION GRANTED FOR A PERIOD OF 36 MONTHS, UNDER THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
	1)		OBEY ALL LAWS, ORDINANCES, AND COURT ORDERS.
	2)		BE COMMITTED TO THE CUSTODY OF THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF FOR 180 DAYS;
	3)		PAY A FINE AND ASSESSMENT IN THE TOTAL OF $346.00, PAYABLE TO THE COURT, AS DIRECTED BY FINANCIAL SERVICES.
	4)		PAY VICTIM RESTITUTION, TO BE DETERMINED BY FINANCIAL SERVICES; ANY DISPUTE TO BE RESOLVED IN A COURT HEARING. PAY RESTITUTION (VICTIM) IN AN AMOUNT DETERMINED BY AND PAYABLE TO THE COURT, AS DIRECTED BY FINANCIAL SVCS; ANY DISPUTE TO BE RESOLVED IN A COURT HRG
	5)		NOT HAVE ANY NEGATIVE CONTACT WITH ANY MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY.
	6)		ADDED TERM: DONT KNOWINGLY COME WITHIN 1000FT OF ANY
	7)		ADDED TERM: DONT ANNOY OR HARASS ANY MEMBER OF CHURCH OF