Today’s Links: May 30, 2012

OPINION

MATTHEW YGLESIAS: “IP Policy Is About Consumers, Not Geek v. Artist Pissing Matches”
“You can’t credibly say that someone who wanted to read something interesting was better off in 1982 than in 2012. That’s particularly true if you posit that the “someone” in question is sitting in a house near San Antonio rather than a college campus or New York City. You can read newspapers from around the world. You can read academics discussing their work and its relevance to the issues of the day. You can order any book in print to be delivered to your door in days, and many books will digitally appear within minutes if you want them to. For people who like to read, life has never been better. And that’s what policy should be concerning itself with.”

A. BARTON HINKLE: “Drop and Give Uncle Sam 20”
“According to the Harvard Gazette, ‘Our ancient ancestors’ diet was heavy on tubers, fruits, and vegetables, and lean meat from game animals. In fact, Lieberman said, if you look at what our ancient ancestors likely ate, you’d wind up with something like the dietary advice coming out of [the Harvard School for Public Health].’ You certainly would not wind up with a recommendation that you carbo-load by eating, oh, six to 11 servings of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta every day. Yet that is precisely what the federal government’s food pyramid advised from 1992 to 2005. By remarkable coincidence, that time frame happens to overlap the period of the greatest growth in obesity rates.”

BLOOMBERG NEWS EDITORIAL: “Help U.S. Economy With Visas For Best and Brightest”
“To see the results of self-defeating U.S. immigration policies, you need only open your browser to www.canadavisa.com. There, you’ll see a shrewd neighbor fishing for talent at U.S. expense. At the top of the website, in large print, is the question: ‘Currently on an H1B Visa or otherwise working or studying in the United States?’ There is nothing subtle about the appeal. Canada is seeking skilled foreigners who’ve grown frustrated with the U.S. visa gantlet, which can take a decade for the lucky few who manage even to begin it.”

NEWS

COPYRIGHT – French Court Sides With Google in YouTube Case
“The Tribunal de Grande Instance declared that YouTube, which lets people post videos to the site, had made sufficiently adequate efforts to remove programs like “Heroes” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” for which TF1, the biggest television company in France, owned French broadcasting rights.”

FREE SPEECH – Thai Web Editor Sentenced in Free-Speech Case
“A Thai court has convicted a web editor for publishing posts critical of the monarchy on her website, but suspended her jail sentence amid calls to reform the country’s lese majeste law.”

CYBERSECURITY – Cyber-Attack Concerns Raised Over Boeing 787 Chip’s ‘Back Door’
“Two Cambridge experts have discovered a ‘back door’ in a computer chip used in military systems and aircraft such as the Boeing 787 that could allow the chip to be taken over via the internet.”