Cav's Place

There may be some potential to Sarkozy’s proposal to tax major Internet advertising companies in order to raise money to support creative industries, if done for the right reasons and approached from the correct angle. Unfortunately, the reasons are all wrong and the approach is incorrect, so it’s simply yet another attempt to support industries that no longer have a real place in today’s world and help a select few hold on to the vast wealth they’ve been acquiring by exploiting others’ work for so long. Plus, more than likely, it’s yet another method of cultural protectionism and possibly also isolationsim, which is pretty much what you’d expect from France.
But something could be achieved by selecting the few good parts of this proposal, improving them and then implementing them correctly and for the right reasons. And by “good parts” I mean redirecting a part of the advertising revenue generated by people accessing certain types of content on-line to the creators of said content and creating a system through which people without credit cards will be able to easily send money to content creators. Sure, the proposal doesn’t exactly specify those things either, but it contains concepts that could be improved in order to become what I said in the previous phrase.

To go into more detail, I believe I mentioned the first idea at least once before. It can certainly be argued that a company that earns advertising revenue as a result of people viewing a page that contains content created by someone else is making money off others’ work, so a significant portion of that revenue ought to be directed towards the creators of said content. This is very different from the idea listed in the proposal, which would involve a tax on all advertising revenue generated by certain companies which would then be directed towards certain industries as a whole.
This method seems to me to benefit both users and content creators, because users would no longer face penalties for posting songs or movies or books or other such works on these sites and the authors would earn some money as a result of people listening to or watching or reading their works. It also seems very fair, since currently these sites do earn money from such content, albeit indirectly, but the authors earn nothing and the users who make the effort to upload the content are even liable for punishments for doing so. But all of this is only valid as long as the revenue would be directed straight towards the authors and nobody else…

As for the second idea, it’s an integral part of my concept of the Content Creators’ Association. In fact, it’s the most important part of that concept from the point of view of the potential customers. And providing a means for people to pay content creators after purchasing prepaid cards is one of the solutions I’m most interested in, because if implemented properly it’d allow people to make use of any shop they have access to, whether traditional or on-line, to charge an on-line account from which they could then make payments or donations towards any content creator of their choosing, for any product of their choosing or even for no specific product at all, without being restricted by the offers of the shops they have access to or by the payment methods at their disposal.
That concept of mine includes many more ideas, but this is what the users of such content would notice most, because it’d make it much more convenient to make such purchases or simply show your appreciation for a certain content creator. But, once again, all of it relies on the fact that any payments will be made directly to the content creators, so people will stop supporting an industry that’s unfair to begin with and certainly no longer has a place in the digital age.

So now we come to the general issue of the industry in question, which is made up of content creators who, with the exception of the select few who happen to benefit from great marketing campaigns, are paid far less than their work is worth and distributors who earn huge amounts of money off the work of said content creators and pull strings to silence anyone who tries to change the rules of the game, be they regular people who power file-sharing networks or companies who come up with potentially new ways to distribute such content, bridging the gap between the authors and the consumers by getting rid of the current distribution model. And proposals like this, in its current form, serve only to prove that point, seeing as they’re obviously the result of powerful distribution companies pulling strings and greasing the right palms in order to have their desires turned into laws.
But that only means we have some more clear targets to destroy in the battle for fairness on this front. I can only hope that more and more content creators will join the fight on this side of the barricades, breaking this alliance with the distributors which harms them about as much as it harms the consumers more often than not. I’m saying that because, while the fight is against the distributors and I certainly have nothing against content creators, we can’t afford protecting anyone who keeps supporting the enemy anymore. The world would be much poorer and all of this would be useless without content creators, but we need to work together if we are to get anything done. Otherwise, the distributors will win and everyone else will lose greatly.

I think the fact that these issues are being discussed at such high levels from the first days of the year only serves to prove what I was saying, namely that 2010 is likely to be a crucial year in this fight between file-sharers and others who desire a different business model when it comes to creative content and the distributors who desperately try to cling on to the old ways that benefit them so greatly.

The year starts with good news from other worlds. And I mean that quite literally, since the first new planets discovered by the Kepler Mission were announced yesterday. (Kepler 4b to Kepler 8b are the new discoveries. The other three planets were already known to exist in Kepler’s field of view.)
The list doesn’t seem to be anything to write home about if you just glance at it. You have one hot Neptune and four hot Jupiters, all of them extremely close to their parent stars. But that can be deceiving, because you have to take into account the fact that these planets were confirmed using the data gathered over just six weeks and that at least three passes of the planet in front of its parent star are required before it’s taken into account. That currently limits the potential discoveries to planets that are very close to their parent stars, not to mention that the discovery of such planets is favored by the transit method, which is used by Kepler.

Considering that the announcement mentioned hundreds of possible planet signatures that are being analyzed, I have high hopes for this mission and think that, by the end of 2012, it may well discover more than three times the total number of exoplanets that were known to us at the end of 2009. And that’s by looking at just a small portion of our galaxy and using a method that requires the plane of these distant solar systems to be aligned with Kepler’s camera and can cause the rejection of planet signatures due to irregularities or notable events that would cause variations, such as collisions, alignments, large satellites or, yes, even major signs of a civilization.
That said, I think any newly discovered planet is an important event, because for each planet found there must be many more out there that this method in particular and our current technology in general couldn’t possibly notice. So wait and see what else will be announced, even though no planet capable of supporting any kind of life we know of could possibly be detected by Kepler earlier than 2012 (or perhaps 2011, in case of significantly cooler parent stars). After all, the search for a “new Earth” is mainly just marketing, because finding a planet similar to our own hundreds or even thousands of light years away wouldn’t really be of much help. A planet is a planet and all are important in our attempt to figure out exactly what’s out there.

Whether it’s because recent developments threaten to worsen the problem even more, because the situation is already dreadful and we need to find a real solution immediately or because there have actually been some positive developments recently and we shouldn’t waste the momentum, there is every reason to believe that 2010 will be a crucial year for a number of causes. It’ll likely be a crucial year for many more issues than I’ll list here, but I can only write about those that are important to me…

While this may surprise some, I think the most important battles of 2010 will be fought on the “piracy” and file-sharing front. Recent negative developments underline the need for immediate action, while the rise of Pirate Parties everywhere can create a powerful and organized movement for just this purpose, especially since the Swedish Pirate Party is now represented in the European Parliament.
The distributors are out for blood, in a final effort to stamp out those who would reduce the huge amounts of money they make off others’ work or perhaps even get rid of them completely by promoting direct contact between the content creators and the consumers. That wouldn’t be so bad if governments wouldn’t be so easy to buy, but since a good bribe or, as the case may be, a believable threat is usually enough to ensure the laws they desire will be adopted, we have a big problem on our hands and very little time to solve it, considering the strength of the enemy.

Despite the unsurprising failure of the Copenhagen Summit, it did provide a certain momentum for environmental issues, especially since many organizations managed, either separately or by working together, to make themselves heard quite loudly. These organizations learned and improved during the Summit, while others can learn from their experience, resulting in more powerful, better organized and ultimately much more effective campaigns in the future. But we need to take advantage of this moment, before any lessons are forgotten and, more importantly, before actual decisions are taken at the highest levels, so we won’t need to fight an even tougher battle in order to change them later.
2010 will also be an important year for environmental issues simply because we’re really out of time. You could say that there’s no way for the things that need to happen to actually happen in due time anymore, but we can still try to reduce the damage and therefore make it somewhat easier to repair later, once we’ll finally convince ourselves that we really need to roll up our sleeves and fix everything humanity has ruined ever since it started relying on the exploitation and destruction of Nature for its own benefit. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll realize that fact while there’ll still be anything left to save… And anyone left to try to save it…

On a related note, 2010 will also be an important year for animal rights, as there are many issues related to this topic that require immediate attention and a number of important decisions regarding some of them will apparently be reached this year. That means that our first duty is to pressure the decision makers in order to ensure that the new laws and regulations will be written with the best interests of the animals in mind, as opposed to those of certain corporations or even humans as a whole, and then we’ll have to keep monitoring the outcome because otherwise it’s unlikely that such laws and regulations would amount to anything more than words on a page. Animals can’t sue, after all, so people find it easy to mistreat them without fear of retribution.

Important battles of the “Privacy War” will also be fought this year, because governments tighten their control more and more. Often, terrorism is used as an excuse for these actions, but I have to wonder when will they feel secure enough of their grip on the people to give up even on this excuse, because the truth is that a skilled terrorist who truly desires to cause harm will find a way past everything any government could ever attempt, so these measures serve to hinder and ultimately control the general public much more than to provide any concept of security.
A particularly worrying trend is the widespread use of RFID, which, if anything, is more of a security risk than a safety measure, at least for the person in question, because any RFID device can theoretically be read by anyone who has managed to purchase, manufacture or steal a suitable device without the need to steal from or even touch the victim, therefore dramatically increasing the risk of identity theft. But, of course, it’s not the security of the people that the governments care about, but their ability to track and control them.

Last but not least, 2010 could also be an important year for those who fight against discrimination of any kind, and perhaps even more so for those who fight for LGBT rights and cohabiters’ rights. A string of encouraging developments regarding these issues in general, and gay marriage especially, has been observed towards the end of 2009, which means that a certain momentum exists and it shouldn’t be wasted.
Of course, it’s equally true that certain negative developments have also been observed and therefore immediate action is necessary in order to counteract them, meaning that a very carefully balanced agenda is in order.

This list only means to outline a few key areas where important changes are required and also can be brought about by the end of this year. As always, it’s far from exhaustive, even from my own perspective. For example, I really wish I could have included something about overpopulation, since for me it’s by far the most important issue, but I doubt 2010 will bring any significant developments in this area, seeing as the vast majority of people simply refuse to understand that it is indeed a problem, or at least refuse to see that it’s a global problem, making it theirs as much as anyone else’s.

I never cared for these “New Year’s resolutions”, but I do make plans and usually stick to them, so I thought I’d list what I plan to do in 2010. You’ll find that my list is made up of very simple things and that none of them could be considered achievements by the vast majority people, but I know my interests, my limits and the situation I’m in. I will list things I know I can do, unlike most other people who usually get carried away with their “resolutions”, saying things that are too ambitious, beyond their abilities or simply go against their personality, which is just why they hardly ever achieve them.
This post will, however, contain two lists. The first one will be made up of goals I’m quite certain I can reach, while the second one will be slightly more ambitious. No list will contain any goals that are too unlikely, but at least a part of the second one will likely be a little beyond my reach, so I’ll acknowledge that by saying that reaching any of the goals on that list is entirely optional.

That said, here’s the first list. In no particular order, what I plan to do in 2010 is:
– Continue to go out at least once per week, as I’ve been doing for over two and a half years.
– Stick to this little daily exercise routine of mine, as I have for the past four years.
– Earn and redeem at least 15000 butterfly credits on Care2, in order to take advantage of their new system and make myself a tiny bit more useful. (If the value of a credit will change significantly, the goal will also be adjusted accordingly.)
– Continue to follow the rules I have set for myself when I started this blog, namely to post something on at least two different days of each week, have the posts filed under Personal and Tests & Surveys make up less than half of the total number of posts at all times and have the Society category contain more than half the number of posts contained by the Personal category at all times.
– Keep backing up my important files monthly, as I started to do after the last HDD failure.
– Continue to have more legally purchased software than “pirated” software installed on my computer at any one moment, as has been the case at least since I bought this computer.
– Read The Blood Knight in January, since I decided to stop after a few pages and wait a while longer after purchasing it, then read at least five more books, none of them translated into Romanian, by the end of the year.
– Finish Planescape: Torment, which I’m currently playing, in January, then play at least five other games by the end of the year, at least one of them having been released in 2008 or later. (By “play” I normally mean “play and finish”, but it will also count if I’ll give up on a game shortly before the end, as I did with Final Fantasy VIII.)
– Submit ratings on MobyGames for all the games already on my “Games Played” list on IGN and continue to submit ratings on both sites for any new additions.
– Fulfill my pledge to Global Population Speak Out by writing at least one blog post about overpopulation and sending messages regarding the movement to at least a few newspapers during the month of February.

And now on to the second list, which you’ll notice consists of additions to the goals listed in the first one. The order is the same as on the first list, to make it easier to follow. What I will attempt to do in 2010, if conditions would be favorable enough and my mood good enough to take advantage of them, is:
– After increasing the difficulty of one of the three types of exercise that make up my little daily routine in 2009, increase the difficulty of at least one of the other two by the end of the year and don’t go back.
– Earn and redeem at least 25000, or even 30000, butterfly credits on Care2. (Again, if the value of a credit will change significantly, the goal will also be adjusted accordingly.)
– Have the number of non-personal posts exceed the number of personal posts, which are those from the “Personal” and “Tests & Surveys” categories, by at least 25 by the end of the year.
– Despite the fact that it’s still a laughable goal compared to how much I was reading while living with Andra, it would be a huge step forward if I could manage to obtain and read at least ten, and preferably at least 12, books, including The Blood Knight.
– Play at least three games released in 2005 or later, at least two of them being released in 2007 or later, but also get rid of at least two of the games kits that are currently on my computer, either by playing them or by deciding that I’ll never want to play them and is therefore pointless to continue keeping them.
– Write reviews on MobyGames, which I could then also copy to IGN and perhaps a few other sites, for at least ten of the games that I have played, at least five of them being for games that I have played in 2009 or earlier.
– Rise noticeably above the level of “armchair activist”, mainly by getting even more involved on-line when it comes to the causes I care about, but also by participating in at least one actual protest regarding an issue that I care about.

These lists are not exhaustive, but they contain what I could think of right now. They do not contain any goals that would also require the full cooperation of others, since that’s out of my hands. As I said, they contain things that the vast majority of people would never consider to be achievements, but they’re my lists…
I could have added a third list, containing my hopes and dreams, but decided against it since those haven’t changed and aren’t going to change, so it’ll serve no real purpose to write them again in this post.

Otherwise, I wish all of you the same things I wish for myself: May all your wishes come true as long as that won’t cause unjustified harm to others or to the world as a whole, and may your worst years be in your past, the one that’s just ending eventually proving to have been worse than any of the ones that’ll follow it.

The story seems to turn harsher, and humans once again play a major part. There seems to be little enough actual action, which makes this book appear to be more like book one of part two of the series than book four of the series, but the supposed cliffhanger at the end most likely is no cliffhanger at all. Truth be told, I finished it quite some time ago and I barely remember anything about the first half of it, so it’s a very important part of the overall story and reveals even more about the characters, but the action is not so memorable in itself.

Rating: 4/5