<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.wired.com/news/culture/music/1,72879-0.html">http://www.wired.com/news/culture/music/1,72879-0.html</a><!-- m -->

Quote:By Eliot Van Buskirk|
08:00 AM Mar, 06, 2007

Internet radio companies big and small are revving up for a fight with the Copyright Royalty Board that could lead to the halls of Congress and -- some fear -- the end of streaming music stations in the United States.

The panicked preparation follows last Friday's buzz-killing bombshell: As 50 million or so online radio listeners geared up for their weekends, the board released new royalty rates representing a potential tenfold increase webcasters would have to pay out.

In the old, percentage-based fee system, webcasters paid SoundExchange -- the Recording Industry Association of America-associated organization that pushed the Copyright Royalty Board to adopt the new rates -- between 6 percent and 12 percent of their revenue, depending on audience reach. The new system charges all webcasters a flat fee per song per listener; for instance, in 2007, streaming companies would owe $0.0011 per song per listener (rates change based on year).

That amount may not sound like much, but it adds up quickly. Consider, for instance, AOL Music, with its average of 210,694 listeners for November 2006. According to calculations made by the Radio and Internet Newsletter, or RAIN, AOL retroactively owes about $1.65 million in sound-recording royalties for that month alone (and that doesn't include songwriting royalties). By the end of this year, according to RAIN, the company could owe roughly $20 million -- unless the rates are overturned by the board or by Congress, which is still a possibility.

Larger services that offer thousands of channels, such as the free Pandora, are also facing a huge spike in royalty costs. Kurt Hanson, publisher of RAIN and CEO of AccuRadio, went so far as to speculate that Pandora, which is based in the United States, could "disappear" as a result of the new rates. Overseas competitors like Last.fm, which is based in London and removed from the board's restrictions, could easily claim Pandora's market share. If Pandora has to pay the annual $500 minimum for each channel, Hanson said, its sound-recording royalty bill for 2006 alone would be capped at about $2 billion (based on the service's 300 million registered users, each of whom gets to create up to 100 unique channels).

"The rates are disastrous," says Joe Kennedy, CEO of Pandora. "I'm not aware of any internet radio service that believes it can sustain a business at the rates set by this decision."

The situation for smaller webcasters isn't any better. And for the likes of Bill Goldsmith, who runs Radio Paradise, it's far worse: "This royalty structure would wipe out an entire class of business, small independent webcasters such as myself and my wife. Our obligation under this rate structure would be equal to over 125 percent of our total income."

The smallest webcasters, who use services such as Live365 for their shows, will likely vanish as well unless the rates are overturned. RAIN pegs Live365's royalty obligation for 2006 at approximately $4.2 million -- and that's not counting the minimum $500 it could owe annually for thousands of its channels. Again, that's in addition to other royalty fees. (The site, like most others, already pays songwriter royalties to performing rights organizations BMI, ASCAP and SESAC.)

Live365 did not respond to e-mail and phone queries from Wired News in time for publication, and Yahoo declined to comment. SoundExchange also failed to respond.

Hanson, who testified at the hearings on behalf of small webcasters, said he doesn't "think the people actually running the record labels want to see internet radio shut down," but that SoundExchange's lawyers had planned "an aggressive, win-all-you-can battle in Washington. I think they were more successful than they expected to be."

Pandora's Joe Kennedy believes the board's decision will not stand -- it's simply too extreme. He wrote to Wired News, "The only reason the (online streaming) services are not shutting down today is the belief that rationality will ultimately prevail here, either through appeal or congressional intervention." (A third option, according to Hanson, is that SoundExchange could choose to continue licensing music as a share of revenue, as it did before the Copyright Royalty Board decision.)

Only webcasters that were involved in the original Copyright Royalty Board decision-making process (Yahoo, AOL, Live365 and a few smaller webcasters including Radioio, Ultimate80s and Accuradio) will be able to file an appeal, and they have 15 days to do so.

The House Commerce Committee's telecommunications subcommittee is holding a hearing on March 7 to hear testimony on the current and future radio industry. Witnesses will include Mel Karmazin from Sirius, Peter Smith from broadcaster Greater Media and Bob Kimball from RealNetworks.

If the new rates stick, online music fans may come to expect far less innovation, variety and quality when it comes to internet radio. Some industry experts fear that even more users could be driven to illicit services that pay no royalties or those that operate from other countries.

Two real life factors caused me to have a bad dream last night.

1) There was some awful news story on cnn.com yesterday about a baby who had it's nose eaten off by a rat while it was sleeping in its crib.

2) I left my windows open last night and put fans up against the screens to let the place air out a bit overnight.


So I fell asleep, and I seemingly wake up and I can feel something digging into the middle of my back. It hurts like hell so I grab a pillow and start whacking it to try and get whatever it is off. Of course it's not coming off so I run into the bathroom to see what the fuck it was in the mirror (all the while whacking it with the pillow). It was a fucking pigeon acting like he was Woody Woodpecker drilling into my spine and blood is all over the place. It was pretty terrible but it's cool how your mind can fuck with you like that. Needless to say, I shut all the windows before going back to sleep.

Can we do $20 a head again? I need a fix after neteller got shut down

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/">http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/</a><!-- m -->

league id - 177598
password: mondayhall

same settings as last year

Pretty quick start to the offseason free agent period already with a few teams taking huge plunges and signing and/or trading for guys. A few of the big deals so far

Thomas Jones to the jets....great fucking move for them. A legit 1000 yard back in an offense that did pretty good last year without a decent running back....and what's with the bears? they lose a number of coaches, now a legit starting RB and they have a big LB that doesn't want to play for them anymore. how the mighty have fallen

Broncos Move....trade for dre Bly and travis henry...a pro bowl cornerback to play alongside Champ Bailey and Lynch??? that's a great defensive backfield

Patriots moves....just wow...a team with so few needs gets better every year...Wes Welker from miami is a stud running the ball back on punts and kick returns and started catching the ball this year. Add brady to the mix and he's going to have a pretty good year I think..Kyle Brady has been a good possesion receiver for quite a number of years and they picked up a serviceable sammy morris to take over for Dillon who may or may not be back or retire. good moves and now there is the rumor that Randy Moss may be on their radar for a trade. Hook up Moss and Brady and it may be bombs away on the rest of the AFC

Patrick Kerney to the seahawks...and the rich get richer


Leonard Davis to the cowboys...FINALLY a big body to block for a QB. It's about fucking time and now they sign Brad Johnson to back up romo. We'll see how that works out.

nice start to the period so far

Unfortunately, the timeframe for when I can start the vacation, and where I have to be at the end of the vacation are set in stone, so I need fill one bit. I want consenus.

Weekend of 22 June - 28 June: Russia
Weekend of 29 June - 1 July: Amsterdam
????
Weekend of 6 July - 8 July: Spain (running of the bulls)

So, I need something from 2 July - 5 July.

Options:
London (most expensive)
Paris (gay)
Germany (concentration camps)
Madrid (least expensive)

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.greatfirewallofchina.org/test/">http://www.greatfirewallofchina.org/test/</a><!-- m -->

No surprise, yahoo is banned in china too.

Our new goal, to reach out to out Chinese breathren.

It was getting dark as the sun was just about set. I was driving south on Route 1 on the way home from work tonight and I saw what looked like mountains out on the horizon. I thought I was driving in Colorado, but then I thought clouds? No that's a fucking giant water wall. Maybe there was a giant earthquake in the sea or maybe the sea was struck by a giant meteor. Either way I expect the water will reach us in a matter of hours. Look to the south. Prepare.

I have to say that my time spent here, since joining this board with all you bastards and bastardettes, has greatly improved my messageboarding. Others have even taken notice. I'm tougher and much more funnier. So here's to you cdih. I <3 you.

winners in bold

I still need to see The Departed..

Quote:Best Picture: "Babel," "The Departed," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Queen."

Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"; Peter O'Toole, "Venus"; Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland."

Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children."

Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"; Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"; Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"; Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed."

Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, "Babel"; Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"; Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"; Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel."

Directing: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel"; Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"; Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima"; Stephen Frears, "The Queen"; Paul Greengrass, "United 93."

Foreign Language Film: "After the Wedding," Denmark; "Days of Glory (Indigenes)," Algeria; "The Lives of Others," Germany; "Pan's Labyrinth," Mexico; "Water," Canada.

Adapted Screenplay: Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips, "Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"; Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, "Children of Men"; William Monahan, "The Departed"; Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, "Little Children"; Patrick Marber, "Notes on a Scandal."

Original Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel"; Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, "Letters From Iwo Jima"; Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"; Peter Morgan, "The Queen."

Animated Feature Film: "Cars," "Happy Feet," "Monster House."

Art Direction: "Dreamgirls," "The Good Shepherd," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "The Prestige."

Cinematography: "The Black Dahlia," "Children of Men," "The Illusionist," "Pan's Labyrinth," "The Prestige."

Sound Mixing: "Apocalypto," "Blood Diamond," "Dreamgirls," "Flags of Our Fathers," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

Sound Editing: "Apocalypto," "Blood Diamond," "Flags of Our Fathers," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

Original Score: "Babel," Gustavo Santaolalla; "The Good German," Thomas Newman; "Notes on a Scandal," Philip Glass; "Pan's Labyrinth," Javier Navarrete; "The Queen," Alexandre Desplat.

Original Song: "I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth," Melissa Etheridge; "Listen" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven; "Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett; "Our Town" from "Cars," Randy Newman; "Patience" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger and Willie Reale.

Costume: "Curse of the Golden Flower," "The Devil Wears Prada," "Dreamgirls," "Marie Antoinette," "The Queen."

"An Inconvenient Truth," "Iraq in Fragments," "Jesus Camp," "My Country, My Country."

Documentary (short subject): "The Blood of Yingzhou District," "Recycled Life," "Rehearsing a Dream," "Two Hands."

Film Editing: "Babel," "Blood Diamond," "Children of Men," "The Departed," "United 93."

Makeup: "Apocalypto," "Click," "Pan's Labyrinth."

Animated Short Film: "The Danish Poet," "Lifted," "The Little Matchgirl," "Maestro," "No Time for Nuts."

Live Action Short Film: "Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)," "Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)," "Helmer & Son," "The Saviour," "West Bank Story."

Visual Effects: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "Poseidon," "Superman Returns."

Academy Award winners previously announced this year:

Honorary Award (Oscar statuette): Ennio Morricone

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (Oscar statuette): Sherry Lansing

Yeah this won't cause any problems

Quote:Brace yourself. James Cameron, the man who brought you 'The Titanic' is back with another blockbuster. This time, the ship he's sinking is Christianity.

In a new documentary, Producer Cameron and his director, Simcha Jacobovici, make the starting claim that Jesus wasn't resurrected --the cornerstone of Christian faith-- and that his burial cave was discovered near Jerusalem. And, get this, Jesus sired a son with Mary Magdelene.

No, it's not a re-make of "The Da Vinci Codes'. It's supposed to be true.

Let's go back 27 years, when Israeli construction workers were gouging out the foundations for a new building in the industrial park in the Talpiyot, a Jerusalem suburb. of Jerusalem. The earth gave way, revealing a 2,000 year old cave with 10 stone caskets. Archologists were summoned, and the stone caskets carted away for examination. It took 20 years for experts to decipher the names on the ten tombs. They were: Jesua, son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Mathew, Jofa and Judah, son of Jesua.
Israel's prominent archeologist Professor Amos Kloner didn't associate the crypt with the New Testament Jesus. His father, after all, was a humble carpenter who couldn't afford a luxury crypt for his family. And all were common Jewish names.

There was also this little inconvenience that a few miles away, in the old city of Jerusalem, Christians for centuries had been worshipping the empty tomb of Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Christ's resurrection, after all, is the main foundation of the faith, proof that a boy born to a carpenter's wife in a manger is the Son of God.

But film-makers Cameron and Jacobovici claim to have amassed evidence through DNA tests, archeological evidence and Biblical studies, that the 10 coffins belong to Jesus and his family.

Ever the showman, (Why does this remind me of the impresario in another movie,"King Kong", whose hubris blinds him to the dangers of an angry and very large ape?) Cameron is holding a New York press conference on Monday at which he will reveal three coffins, supposedly those of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. News about the film, which will be shown soon on Discovery Channel, Britain's Channel 4, Canada's Vision, and Israel's Channel 8, has been a hot blog topic in the Middle East (check out a personal favorite: Israelity Bites) Here in the Holy Land, Biblical Archeology is a dangerous profession. This 90-minute documentary is bound to outrage Christians and stir up a titanic debate between believers and skeptics. Stay tuned.
--Tim McGirk/Jerusalem