There is a significant number of stories I can comment on this week. I will tackle two of them. The first one concerns the UK's RIPA act. The story details how the UK has used this law for the first time to try to force the encryption code from one of its citizens. The law has been in the books for several years but this is the first time it has been used (that we know of). The article implies that this law is a clear example of a growing tendency for countries to become police states. It is shameful that nations have to force its citizens to reveal private information simply because there is some sort of suspicion of criminal activity. To me that is equivalent to the tactics used by the Nazis and other cruel governments to subjugate any free-thinking citizens. Please read the article and see what you think about this. And the UK is not alone in this; many other countries (including the USA) have similar (or greater) powers to invade private lives.
My other comment concerns J.K. Rowling's lawsuit concerning the "Harry Potter Lexicon." It appears Ms. Rowling was happy when the contributors to the Lexicon were helping her make money by adding value to her stories. But when they saw a way to make money themselves based on their labor, then Rowling objected and took them to court. I love the Harry Potter books and I think Ms. Rowling should benefit from her work -- but being too greedy is not a good trait to have. Her attitude is seriously disappointing.
No comments:
Post a Comment