C-Span Changes Copyright Rules To Favor Bloggers

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, used a C-Span video in/on her blog promoting Democrats. It was against the law. She has been forgiven and C-Span is changing it's rules to give more leeway to the use of it's material.

Officials for the cable TV network that provides daily gavel-to-gavel coverage of House and Senate proceedings at first said the blog was in violation, then announced it wasn't. On Wednesday, they said that it was but that they're changing their policy so that it won't be in the future.

The new copyright policy will allow non-commercial Internet users to share and post C-SPAN video as long as they attribute it to the public service channel.

"Given our background and our history, an open approach is the most consistent with our mission," said Rob Kennedy, C-SPAN's president. "We are now saying under the new policy that that will be OK, for her or any blogger or citizen journalist" to post C-SPAN video online.

A C-SPAN statement Wednesday said the network is implementing a "liberalized copyright policy for current, future, and past coverage of any official events sponsored by Congress and any federal agency ... which will allow non-commercial copying, sharing, and posting of C-SPAN video on the Internet, with attribution."

both blockquotes from Yahoo News

Speaking of attribution. Hat tip and thanks to Warner Todd Huston for his posting on this subject.

prying1 sez: No telling how far this will go. Freedom of speech and fair use is on the march. - At least in the U.S. - Overseas it is a different story. Warner Todd Huston has another story posted - France Makes Effort to Criminalize Bloggers, Internet News Sites - which tells of a different state of affairs way over in France.

The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil liberties group warned on Tuesday.
- Macworld -

HEY! WAIT A SECOND! Who uses film anymore? It is all digital or tape.

I can see it now. Youths rioting, looting, pillaging; the French police ignoring them and instead attacking and beating a bystander that is catching the action with a cell phone.

It is a topsy turvy world we live in.


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Cpl. Jennifer ParcellWednesday Hero - 7 Mar 07 -

The following is the Wednesday Hero Blogroll Posting.

This Week's Soldier Was Suggested By SJ Reidhead

Cpl. Jennifer Parcell
20 years old from Bel Air, Maryland
Combat Logistics Regiment 3, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force
February 7, 2007


Cpl. Jennifer Parcell was petite, but one learned quickly that underestimating her was foolish.

"She was an absolute firecracker," Master Sgt. Jerry Widner said. "Just a go-getting machine."

Her relentless can-do attitude led her to volunteer for Iraq. And then to volunteer for the Lioness Program, which provides female Marines for searches of Iraqi women to respect Muslim cultural mores.

Parcell was killed Feb. 7 in Anbar province when a woman she was searching blew herself up with a suicide vest. Parcell had started doing the searches a week before and was three weeks from going home.

You can read the rest of Cpl. Jennifer Parcell's story here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. If you would like to participate in honoring the brave men and women who serve this great country, you can find out how by going here.

prying1 sez: May her family be comforted as she has joined the 'great cloud of witnesses'.

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A Letter In Favor Of Walter Reed Hospital

Greg Kandra posted this at CBS News - After all the noise about conditions at Walter Reed (noise that really says big government does not work) I found it refreshing to read this.

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Pentagon producer Mary Walsh sent us the following note late yesterday. It’s from a soldier who was treated at Walter Reed, with his views on conditions there. We’re re-printing it here, with some slight editing, to help give a fuller picture of that famous medical center, considered by many the premiere treatment center of its kind in the country. – Ed.

My account of the situation surrounding Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

I am SSG Daniel Metzdorf, I was a patient at Walter Reed (WRAMC) in 2004 and 2005. I spent approx. 14 months there all together. I was injured 27 Jan 2004 by a roadside bomb, IED, 55 miles south of Bagdad, Iraq. As a result of my injuries, I had my right leg amputated above the knee. I have had over 27 operations and countless hours of PT (physical therapy) & OT (occupational therapy) and prosthetic care. I attempted to stay on active duty with the 82nd Airborne Division and after my 3rd attempt and all the support of my chain of command, I was able to Continue on Active Duty (COAD). I reenlisted and stayed with the 82nd ABN DIV. I am now permanently assigned to the US Army Parachute Team, “The Golden Knights”.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center is the best medical care in the world!

Walter Reed is where miracles happen.

The problem is with the outpatient soldiers and the soldiers unit. When there are too many soldiers at WRAMC, and then the hospital is forced to find them some place to live. If the outpatient soldiers were proactive and the unit kept good accountability and tracking of their soldier, then he or she would return back to their home duty station and not take up space/ need space at WRAMC. I believe if there was a Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of tracking soldiers and their care and willing to order the soldier to return to there home duty station, the hospital would not have to be forced to use temporary housing like they are now.

I assure you that no soldier was in danger and at no time were the conditions there worse than in combat. I am a soldier and my life is being a soldier, I believe once you are injured and after you are an outpatient, you need to continue to be an asset to the military, i.e. get back to work, the tax payers aren’t paying us to sit around.

My unit at the time of my injury was the 82nd ABN DIV, I was contacted by phone and or email every other day by my unit. They knew when I was due back to work, if I was not going to be medically discharged. I never have heard any soldier complain about the medical care at WRAMC. I am not crazy about the food there, but who likes hospital food?

Soldiers in Reserve and National Guard units tend to be the majority of the out patients at WRAMC. Their units need to find a hospital near their home to take care of these soldiers. WRAMC is a “Major Treatment Facility” -- this is not a clinic to take care of colds or tennis elbow; the Army has Health Clinics for these types of injuries or illnesses. Also the MED Hold unit at WRAMC should be for special cases, not for every soldier, each Post has a MED Hold unit. That is where they need to go.

To fix the problem: Make a few Active duty Army position E-6/E-7, combat arms (someone who has been to combat) at WRAMC. Hiis sole position would be to track the soldiers’ treatment and care and to determine when they are not needing treatment from WRAMC, and then send them back to the control of their unit. This would ensure that WRAMC would not have too many people on its property. This would also alleviate the use of temporary housing.

Soldiers are not all the same, but these facts remain true of us all. We all volunteered, we all take orders, and we all have a responsibility to our great nation. If I had one thing to say to these soldiers, it would be: get back to your unit and become proactive. We need you and you are still part of this great organization, THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.

prying1 sez: Kudos to CBS for putting this out there.

To SSG Daniel Metzdorf - Hooah!!!!!

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JETMAN and Comments

I've been out of touch for a few days because I've been busy with business. I'll only be posting a little bit for the next few weeks. Thought I'd come back today with this for you Air Force buffs. Navy will probably like this too since they have a few planes.

Those susceptible to airsickness might want to back out now.

A buddy of mine sent the following link and since then I've been privy to some comments from other friends of his. Thought I'd share it and let those who wish join in the conversation. All the names have been reduced to initials.

First watch the little video at this link my friend sent to me. Don't want the Secret Service knocking on their doors.

- - - JETMAN - in Destination Liberty - - -

Follows, the comments:
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B.W.

If you flew this penetrate Groom Lake to take up-close videos of spook project aircraft or the airspace over Washington, DC, to buzz Capitol Hill, fighters would be scrambled and you’d be vaporized.

R.W.

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B.W.

If you are going to do this in your area, make sure you talk to me first so that I can get the word in with my Nellis friends. If I let them know in advance, they will Intentionally miss with their missiles. Now the DC area I will not be as much help. My friends back there are Navy and not Air Force. If it is a day that the Navy is on patrol, then I can help. FYI. Fighter Cap is flown at 27,000. They dive down on you at just under Mach speed slow enough not to get a sonic boom. Once ATC calls them in, they are there in under 3 minutes.

Here is a link to our air show photos that we did in the Nellis Air Show 2005.
http://www.fotodj.com/nellis2005_EAA.htm

The retired Aggressor Squadron commander is leading the flight. On his right wing is another squadron commander that retired in 2005. Another Air Force Squadron commander is leading Falcon Flight that did a 6-ship maneuvering routine. I train the guys in the formation that are in SoCAL. Our web site is: http://www.rvformation.com

G.S.

When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. - Leonardo da Vinci
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nice

M.C.

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B.W.

You could also rent old red Cessna 150 57G from Gunnell Aviation (alas, long gone) at Santa Monica Municipal (SMO), fly to DC, do S-turns with full flaps just above stall speed of 40 knots through prohibited airspace, then watch the Navy’s Top Guns from PAX River frantically grasping stick and throttle trying to stay next to you to give hand signs before they drop out of the sky like rocks -- which you blissfully ignore, of course. Just smile at them and enjoy the scenery as you buzz and snap photos of government landmarks, like the White House and Capitol Building. You may also wish to do a short field landing on the White House lawn (note: I can attest that landing on wet grass even on warm days is like landing on ice), jump out of the plane, then run over to shake the President’s hand after a ceremony in the Rose Garden.



G.S. will note that those Navy jocks will be scrubbing carrier decks and cleaning bilge pumps for the rest of their military careers for failing to take out the target – but you’ll be laughing all the way to jail. Write when you can!

R.W.

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Nice R.W.!

M.C.

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M.C.

Thanks, but I only get away with stuff like this because B.W. & I are boyhood friends of 50 years. Actually, the aircraft was 67G, B.W.’s favorite training plane at SMO in 1970.

R.W.

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To Everyone,

All I know is I want one of those for Christmas. Now if all of you chip in....

Paul -

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