514 Matching Annotations
  1. Sep 2020
  2. Aug 2020
  3. Jul 2020
    1. Natural Beef Flavor [Wheat and Milk Derivatives]*)

      Elsewhere there’s the claim that McDonalds fries are cooked in some amount of beef fat in processing. Warrants further vetting.

      (My previous account annotation.)

    1. In the U.S, McDonald's French fry suppliers add a very small amount of beef flavor to the oil in the par-frying process at the potato processing plant before shipping the fries to individual outlets.

      "No really. Where is the beef?"

      Is it vegetarian? A look at the ingredients.

  4. Jun 2020
    1. the encryption debate continues to rage in the U.S., with proposed new legislation representing the clearest threat yet to the security underpinning WhatsApp and iMessage, as well as Signal, Telegram and Wickr
  5. May 2020
    1. These exemptions include emails in which the primary purpose is: Transactional: These are emails relating to already-agreed-upon transactions, or emails that deliver goods or services as a part of a transaction that the user already agreed to (e.g. License key or E-book delivery).Relationship: These are emails that update users (that already have a relationship with your service) about changes in product / service terms, features or account information; this also includes warranty, recall, safety, or security information about a product or service.Other (Non-commercial) emails.
    2. Under the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Act, you do not need consent prior to adding users located in the US to your mailing list or sending them commercial messages, however, it is mandatory that you provide users with a clear means of opting out of further contact.
    1. Under the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Act, you do not need consent prior to adding users located in the US to your mailing list or sending them commercial messages, however, it is mandatory that you provide users with a clear means of opting out of further contact.
    2. These rules usually apply to any company selling to EU residents but may vary for international sellers on a case-by-case basis. It is worth noting, however, that in recent cases US courts have chosen to uphold the applicable EU law.
    3. In the US, there is no one national law in regards to returns/refunds for purchases made online as in most cases, this is implemented on a state-by-state basis, however, under several state-laws, if no refund or return notice was made visible to consumers before purchase, consumers are automatically granted extended return/refund rights. In cases where the item purchased is defective, an implied warranty may apply in lieu of a written warranty
    4. In the US, there is no single comprehensive national body of data regulations; there are, however, various laws on a state level as well as industry guidelines and specific federal laws in place. Since online site/app activity is rarely limited to just one state, it’s always best to adhere to the strictest applicable regulations.
  6. Apr 2020
    1. Having said all that, I think this is completely absurd that I have to write an entire article justifying the release of this data out of fear of prosecution or legal harassment. I had wanted to write an article about the data itself but I will have to do that later because I had to write this lame thing trying to convince the FBI not to raid me.
    2. I could have released this data anonymously like everyone else does but why should I have to? I clearly have no criminal intent here. It is beyond all reason that any researcher, student, or journalist have to be afraid of law enforcement agencies that are supposed to be protecting us instead of trying to find ways to use the laws against us.
  7. Mar 2020
    1. We long ago admitted that we’re poor at scheduling, so we have roosters; sundials; calendars; clocks; sand timers; and those restaurant staff who question my integrity, interrupting me with a phone call under the premise of “confirming” that I’ll stick to my word regarding my reservation.
    2. A closely-related failing to scheduling is our failure to remember, so humans are very willing to save information on their computers for later.
    1. Robots are currently suffering extreme discrimination due to a few false assumptions, mainly that they’re distinctly separate actors from humans. My point of view is that robots and humans often need to behave in the same way, so it’s a fruitless and pointless endeavour to try distinguishing them.
    2. As technology improves, humans keep integrating these extra abilities into our cyborg selves
  8. Dec 2019
    1. Its extremism goes straight back to Flake’s hero, Senator Barry Goldwater, who saw mainstream liberals as subversive socialists and opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on states’-rights grounds. In that year’s Presidential election, Goldwater received potent support from the best-selling writers Phyllis Schlafly, whose book “A Choice Not an Echo” imagined cabals of liberal Republicans plotting against the Party’s base, and John Stormer, who, in “None Dare Call It Treason,” warned that pro-Communist élites were infesting American institutions. Reagan’s famous half-hour commercial for Goldwater described the welfare state as the path to totalitarianism. Apocalyptic thinking, conspiracy theories, and bigotry haunted the movement from the start.

      And this goes deep into US history and culture. cf Hackett Fischer. The violent distrust and dislike of the state was baked into Appalachian (which is a large part of the extreme republican southern culture) from its transplant from the borderlands of England.

      The federalism and states rights was what kept the deeply intorelant and different initial 13 states together. The US never reached a reckoning on national culture and the accelerating centralization and homogenization of the 20th century was all but guaranteed to stir up a hornets nest.

      Remember New England (itself much less violent, equitable, intelligent etc than Appalachian) flogged quaker preachers who came to Boston in the 17th centuries. They even hung them. This was an intolerant land united only in their shared obsession with liberty born of oppression back home (in England).

  9. Nov 2019
    1. Betsy Ross Vegan "beef", Vegan Cheese, Onions. Add Shrooms and bells for One Dollar

      Mine is always with extra shrooms. :)

    1. This proposal of sorts, is recent, from 2017, from the US department of education and educational technology offices. We get a current look at a 21 century student, which no longer only includes high school graduates and more like working family members, military personnel, have children, and are first generation attendees. The use of technology has the ability to engage and empower students in support of student success by learning from our peers, working education, flexible schedule, is online, and student centered. 10/10

  10. Oct 2019
  11. Aug 2019
    1. Note - this is only the about me section. Going to have some basic information about the organization, but clearly you'll have to dig through to get more.

    2. resources for Oregonians working to improve our shared environment.

      what other kinds of resources besides stories? Clarity if possible.

  12. May 2019
    1. Dr Arthur Hull Hayes was appointed as Commissioner of the FDA the day after Reagan's inauguration.[34] In 1981, Hayes sought advice on aspartame's ban from a panel of FDA scientists and a lawyer. It soon became clear that the panel would uphold the ban by a 3-2 decision, but Hull then installed a sixth member on the commission, and the vote became deadlocked.[34] He then personally broke the tie in aspartame's favor.

      Taking advantage of the ability to appoint voters in order to manipulate the government in favor of aspartame, aspartame was approved under Ronald Reagan’s administration.

  13. Apr 2019
    1. Being a teenager is hard; there are constant social and emotional pressures that have just been introduced into the life of a middle or high schooler, which combines with puberty to create a ticking time bomb. By looking at the constant exposure to unreasonable expectations smartphones and social media create, we can see that smartphones are leading to an increased level of depression and anxiety in teenagers, an important issue because we need to find a safe way to use smartphones for the furture generations that are growing up with them. Social media is a large part of a majority of young adults life, whether it includes Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, or some combination of these platforms, most kids have some sort of presence online. Sites like Facebook and Instagram provide friends with a snapshot of an event that happened in your life, and people tend to share the positive events online, but this creates a dangerous impact on the person scrolling.​ When teens spend hours scrolling through excluisvely happy posts, it creates an unrealistic expectation for how real life should be. Without context, teenagers often feel as if their own life is not measuring up to all of their happy friends, but real-life will never measure up to the perfect ones expressed online. Picture Picture Furthermore, social media sites create a way for teenagers to seek external validation from likes and comments, but when the reactions online are not perceived as enough it dramatically alters a young adults self-confidence. This leads to the issue of cyberbullying. There are no restrictions on what you can say online, sometimes even annonimously, so often people choose to send negative messages online. Bullying is not a new concept, but with online bullying, there is little to no escape as a smartphone can be with a teenager everywhere, and wherever the smartphone goes the bullying follows.This makes cyberbullying a very effective way to decrease a youth's mental health, in fact, cyberbullying triples the risk of suicide in adolescents, which is already the third leading cause of death for this age group.

  14. Mar 2019
    1. “In the USA, EdTech product catalogues are either too complex for many teachers to use, not objective or comprehensive enough, or not based on credible user reviews (which often have more

      In this article, the author argues that the US can learn something about technology from the rest of the world. Chile, for example, has more cellular phones than the US but is considered a third world country. What can the US learn from this? The ed tech catalogues are too complex and too challenging for teachers to use. The article states, “In the USA, EdTech product catalogues are either too complex for many teachers to use, not objective or comprehensive enough, or not based on credible user reviews (which often have more weight than experimental evidence or product marketing),” states the report, crafted from over 100 interviews with educators, policymakers and entrepreneurs, conducted from September to December 2018." The US also needs to extend access to technology out of the schools and into the homes. There needs to be more groundwork from the US to create a better system. Rating 7/10

    1. The HMO Act of 1973 changed that premise. It authorized for-profit IPA-HMOs in which HMOs may contract with independent practice associations (IPAs) that, in turn, contract with individual physicians for services and compensation. By the late 1990s, 80 percent of MCOs were for-profit organizations, and only 68 percent or less of insurance premiums went toward medical care.

      The HMO Act of 1973 resulted in for profit health care.

    1. Nixon signed into law, the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973, in which medical insurance agencies, hospitals, clinics and even doctors, could begin functioning as for-profit business entities instead of the service organizations they were intended to be. 

      In the 1970s health care was allowed to change from a non-profit to a for profit.

    1. a group of teachers created a program through Baylor University Hospital where they would agree to pre-pay for future medical services (up to 21 days in advance). The resulting organization was not-for-profit and only covered hospital services. It was essentially the precursor to Blue Cross.

      Baylor University's teacher's created one of the first "employee insurance companies" which turned into Blue Cross.

    2. Since U.S. businesses were prohibited from offering higher salaries, they began looking for other ways to recruit new employees as well as incentivizing existing ones to stay. Their solution was the foundation of employer-sponsored health insurance as we know it today.

      The result of the Stabilization Act of 1942 was for employers to provide health care benefits to employees.

    1. Because health benefits could be considered part of compensation but did not count as income, workers did not have to pay income tax or payroll taxes on those benefits. Thus, by 1943, employers had an increased incentive to make health insurance arrangements for their workers, and the modern era of employer-sponsored health insurance began

      After WWII companies started providing health insurance to employees. Somewhere along the way this translated into employers co-oping with private insurance companies to provide health insurance as opposed to paying the employees medical bills or providing their own doctors and clinics.

  15. Feb 2019
    1. When we leave the European Union, an ambitious UK-US free trade agreement will be a key priority for the Department for International Trade, and we have ​already been laying the groundwork. The US-UK trade and investment working group has now met five times
    2. One of the most important trade agreements we are considering is, of course, with the United States, which is our largest single-nation trading partner,
    1. Applicants also agree to have their fingerprints entered into DHS’ Automatic Biometric Identification System (IDENT) “for recurrent immigration, law enforcement, and intelligence checks, including checks against latent prints associated with unsolved crimes.

      Intelligence checks is very concerning here as it suggests pretty much what has already been leaked, that the US is running complex autonomous screening of all of this data all the time. This also opens up the possibility for discriminatory algorithms since most of these are probably rooted in machine learning techniques and the criminal justice system in the US today tends to be fairly biased towards certain groups of people to begin with.

    2. for as long as your fingerprints and associated information are retained in NGI, your information may be disclosed pursuant to your consent or without your consent.

      Meaning they can give your information to with or without your consent.

    3. people enrolled in, or applying to, the program consent to have their personal data added to the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) database, shared with “federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, or foreign government agencies”, and DHS third-party “grantees, experts, [and] consultants” forever.

      So it's not just shared with the US government but any government official from any country. Also third-party experts pretty much opens it up for personal information to be shared with anyone.

    1. as part of the application process, TSA collects a cache of personal information about you, including your prints. They’re held in a database for 75 years, and the database is queried by the FBI and state and local law enforcement as needed to solve crimes at which fingerprints are lifted from crime scenes, according to Nojeim. The prints may also be used for background checks.

      While Global Entry itself only lasts for 4 years, the data you give them and allow them to store lasts for almost your entire life.

    1. by providing their passport information and a copy of their fingerprints. According to CBP, registrants must also pass a background check and an interview with a CBP officer before they may be enrolled in the program

      I was at my Global Entry interview (not at all sure I made the right decision to apply) and a person who already had Global Entry came into the room because he had gotten flagged. The lady at the desk asked him if he had ever been arrested, he said no. She said their new system (they continuously update it with new algorithms to find this info) had flagged a police incident that had happened prior to him applying for Global Entry. He hadn’t been arrested, wasn’t guilty of any crime but his name had apparently made it into some police report and that gave them cause to question him when he re-entered his country.

    2. including data breaches and bankruptcy, experienced by “Clear,” a similar registered traveler program

      Clear was another travel program that had a breach of traveler's personal information so it is not unreasonable to be cautious of Global Entry which has the same information and same legal protections in place (or lack there of).

    1. In 1863, her medical credentials were finally accepted, so she moved to Tennessee, where she was appointed as a War Department surgeon

      The phrasing of this appears to be somewhat biased. It sounds like her credentials weren't up to snuff or something but really, the military was low on surgeons at that time and simply didn't want a woman. https://hyp.is/vAWzXCtjEem5j1tLLCQ8dg/cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_325.html

    2. Because of her credentials, she didn't want to be a nurse, either, so she chose to volunteer for the Union Army.

      This is some what conflicting information. According to https://hyp.is/vAWzXCtjEem5j1tLLCQ8dg/cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_325.html she did work as a Nurse, she just wasn't paid.

    1. in 1863 she was briefly appointed surgeon in an Ohio Regiment.

      She finally was appointed a surgeon near the end of the war.

    2. At the outbreak of the Civil War, she volunteered in Washington to join the Union effort, and worked as a nurse in a temporary hospital set up in the capital.

      She worked as an unpaid nurse because she was not allowed to join as a surgeon in the US military.

  16. Oct 2018
  17. allred720fa18.commons.gc.cuny.edu allred720fa18.commons.gc.cuny.edu
    1. Canton

      Voyage of the Empress of China, 1784. See this site for a detailed history of early US-China trade.

      A passage in Chapter 1 of Moby Dick describes a vigorous trade with the far East: “Posted like silent sentinels all around the town, stand thousands upon thousands of mortal men fixed in ocean reveries … some looking over the bulwarks of ships from China.”

      However, trade between China and the U.S. commenced in 1784, just after the Treaty of Paris was ratified; by 1799, when Benito Cereno is set, it would still have been a relatively young trading relationship, especially considering the lengthy sea voyages required.

      Principal commodities exchanged included the items mentioned by Capt. Delano (silks, sealskins, coin (specie), as well as ginseng tea, porcelain "China ware," lead, and cotton goods.<br> A.D. Edwards, Empress of China at Mart's Jetty, Port Pirie, 1876

      -- Robert Bennet Forbes, Remarks on China and the China Trade. Samuel N. Dickinson, printer, 1844.

  18. Sep 2018
  19. biopub.hypothes.is biopub.hypothes.is
    1. E. coli, many are of metabolic enzymes. Thus, acetylation could represent a novel posttranslational mechanism of metabolic control. Yet, almost nothing is known about the regulation of these acetylations or of their metabolic outcomes.

      annotate

    1. I’m not the only one.

      This provides a turn in the article where it goes from a personal opinion to a broader statement that can be supported with research in order for the audience to relate.

  20. Aug 2018
  21. Feb 2018
  22. Jan 2018
    1. In that sense, he observed, the biggest surprise in the relationship between China and the United States is their similarity. In both countries, people who are infuriated by profound gaps in wealth and opportunity have pinned their hopes on nationalist, nostalgic leaders, who encourage them to visualize threats from the outside world. “China, Russia, and the U.S. are moving in the same direction,” he said. “They’re all trying to be great again.” 

      This is what we have to contend with.

  23. Nov 2017
    1. Show

      U.S.-CAMBODIA RELATIONS

      Over the last several decades of the 20th century, the United States and Cambodia established, broke off, and reestablished relations as a result of armed conflict and government changes in Cambodia. Full diplomatic relations were established after the freely elected Royal Government of Cambodia was formed in 1993. President Obama became the first incumbent President to visit the country during the November 2012 East Asia Summit. The United States is working with Cambodia to further develop its democratic institutions and promote respect for human rights. The two countries also are striving to increase trade and address challenges from promoting regional security to expanding global health and development. The United States also supports efforts in Cambodia to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, improve nutrition for children, eliminate human trafficking and corruption, address environmental degradation, better manage natural resources, foster economic development, achieve the fullest possible accounting for Americans missing from the Indochina conflict in the 1960s and 1970s, and to bring to justice those most responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed under the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime.

    1. US-Cambodian diplomatic relations were first established in 1950. Looking back over the past sixty years, the US-Cambodia relationship can generally be characterized as a relationship with high degrees of fluctuation. In the early years, the United States provided Cambodia assistance with development projects including the construction of a highway connecting Phnom Penh to the port of Sihanoukville

      Eve Cambodia went though the hard time that effected from Vietnam War. US still keep her roll of supportive for Cambodia as well as president Lon Nol and present prime minister.

    1. At present, international online sales account for only a small percentage of total online sales. This is because international shipping costs for goods purchased by Chinese consumers on American websites remain high compared to average purchase prices for online retail goods, restricting U.S.-China online retail sales to relatively low levels. Most non-bulk, lighter manufactured products covering such a distance move via air transportation. Still, online stores with branches in China, such as Amazon, are able to get around the firewall and to ship retail products domestically by maintaining a local presence. For truly international sales from the U.S. to China, shipping costs may decline in the future, and American firms do not want to reduce sales and marketing opportunities even before they open up.
    2. The USTR report states, “over the past decade, China’s filtering of cross-border Internet traffic has posed a significant burden to foreign suppliers, hurting both Internet sites themselves, and users who often depend on them for their businesses. Outright blocking of websites appears to have worsened over the past year, with 8 of the top 25 most trafficked global sites now blocked in China.” According to the U.S. Census, total unadjusted e-commerce sales in the U.S. stood at $341.73 billion in 2015, while in China, Internet sales for 2015 weighed in at $589.61 billion, representing a higher percentage of retail sales than in the U.S.
    3. Recently, the 2016 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, produced by Ambassador Michael Froman in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, stated, controversially, that China’s Great Firewall presents a trade barrier to American suppliers.
    1. The USTR released the list of trade irritants in 63 countries just after senior Trump trade officials announced an executive order to study the causes of U.S. trade deficits.
    2. The Trump administration on Friday slammed China on a range of trade issues from its chronic industrial overcapacity to forced technology transfers and long-standing bans on U.S. beef and electronic payment services.
    3. The annual trade barriers list from the U.S. Trade Representative's office sets up more areas of potential irritation for the first face-to-face meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Florida.

      China Us Barrie

  24. Oct 2017
    1. Military Industrial Complex:

      1. Eisenhower has seen the consequences of this intersection of military power and his own "new look" policy

      Presidential speeches can be measured by how long we talk about them. Still one of the most referenced presidential speeches ever given.

      IRAN — Mohammed Mossafegh (1951–1954)

      • First military Coup during CIA golden age
      • US tells Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1941–1979) that they will take over the country unless he overthrows Mossafegh.
      • For 20+ years we supported a dictator who murdered his own people
      • Any nation state has the option to buy out foreign companies

      Guatemala — Jacobo Arbenz Guzman (1951–1954)

      • Democratically elected leader, called for Progressive Reform (second President to do so)
      • Nationalizing land (US decided it looked like Communism)
      • Guzman runs into problems with the United Fruit Company, who had been cheating on their taxes, undervaluing their land prices. Government seeks to purchase land to nationalize it, and wants to buy it for the price that the UFC valued their land for.
      • UFC and US Government set up a military Coup. Using radio broadcast propaganda, pretending that an army is ravaging the countryside. Guzman believes the propaganda and flees. We set up a dictator.
  25. Sep 2017
      1. Talking about these lands as depopulated — size comparisons downplay population
      2. Uplifting Disney music. Contrasting the old with the "modern" new 3. Rural natives — "Cling to their primitive ways" within the "confines of their small world"
      3. Audience: Americans, middle-class men 5. Primary consumers of videos like this: middle-class, business-men in the United States. Looking to invest in businesses in Central America. Sex tourism is also huge.
      4. Gender — Showing a lot of women, exotic. Don't see men represented because your audience is male.
    1. This document informs the way Americans have seen themselves since the beginning of the twentieth century.

      Interventions are presented as idealistically noble and undeniably moralistic. Instead of recognizing the complexities and consequences of intervention, we continue to propagate intervention as an ideological imperative

      We take on the domestic issues of other nations without being invited to take part. We identify as the prevailer of freedom and democracy when these are just ideals that we aspire to, sometimes missing the mark just as terribly as the nations we seek to guide and coerce.

  26. Jun 2017
  27. Apr 2017
    1. Taiwanese identity grew more distinct from Mainland China

      Taiwan and its attempts to legitimise itself as a sovereign state seperate from china -

      "Trump infuriated China’s leadership when he spoke to Tsai on the phone and later made separate comments questioning the longstanding “one China” policy, under which the US notionally accepts Beijing’s view that Taiwan is part of China. The US does not officially host Taiwanese leaders. Taiwan has been self-governing and de facto independent since the end of China’s civil war. Beijing regards it as a renegade province".

    2. female president

      Tsai Ing-wen

  28. Mar 2017
    1. the statement shall also identify the person filing it, the nature of that person’s interest, the source of the information recorded, and the particular work affected, and shall comply in form and content with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation.

      With a note like this.

  29. Oct 2016
    1. The president is not a prime minister — it’s an individual making decisions, sitting atop an entire branch of government.

      So, Prime Ministers don’t make decisions, sitting atop an entire branch of government?

    1. SB 1070, the 2010 “show me your papers” law that earned Arizona international condemnation and did nothing to resolve real problems with undocumented immigration.

      Public opinion matters.

    2. Endorsement: Hillary Clinton is the only choice to move America ahead

      Hillary Clinton: Not a Loose Cannon Shooting Verbal Spit Wads.

    1. USA TODAY's Editorial Board: Trump is 'unfit for the presidency'

      Strong (written) language. In the video, the paralanguage makes things sounds quite a bit more difficult. Fear of reprisals? Unwilling shift to clickbait?

  30. Aug 2016
    1. VISITS

      I'm not sure exactly where this would fit in, but some way to reporting total service hours (per week or other time period) would be useful, esp as we start gauging traffic, volume, usage against number of service hours. In our reporting for the Univ of California, we have to report on services hours for all public service points.

      Likewise, it may be helpful to have a standard way to report staffing levels re: coverage of public service points? or in department? or who work on public services?

    1. Federal Election Commission ("FEC") regulations require a debate sponsor to make its candidate selection decisions on the basis of "pre-established, objective" criteria. After a thorough and wide-ranging review of alternative approaches to determining who is invited to participate in the general election debates it will sponsor, the CPD adopted on October 28, 2015 its 2016 Non-Partisan Candidate Selection Criteria. Under the 2016 Criteria, in addition to being Constitutionally eligible, candidates must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College, and have a level of support of at least 15 percent of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations’ most recently publicly-reported results at the time of the determination. The polls to be relied upon will be selected based on the quality of the methodology employed, the reputation of the polling organizations and the frequency of the polling conducted. CPD will identify the selected polling organizations well in advance of the time the criteria are applied.

      an official statement of the 15% threshold for being included in the US presidential debate

  31. Jul 2016
    1. With the presidential election cycle coming to a close in November

      Surprised by the US focus of this piece, from the start. But this phrase is particularly awkward, coming from a UK publication. Sounds a bit like people from the US coming to Canada and talking about “the country” in reference to our southerly neighbours. Feels strange, especially from those who teach here.

  32. Apr 2016
    1. true liberal democracy

      A “well-informed citizenry” require journalistic assistance. Which is why US elections are such a neat context to discuss literacy, public opinion, agency, representativeness, and populism.

  33. Jan 2016
  34. Dec 2015
  35. Sep 2015
  36. Apr 2015
    1. The children who thought that having a black president, despite the fact that he was, on domestic policy, worse than EVERY other democratic nominee, are why the US is so fucked right now.

      Wow. Hadn't heard it put so bluntly before.

  37. Jan 2015
    1. It seemed clear to me that this framing of Internet freedom as a pillar of US foreign policy threatened to undermine whatever potential the new tools and platform had for creating an alternative public sphere

      But what is that potential, does it really exist?

  38. Feb 2014
    1. The U.S. social contract establishes a utilitarian basis for protection of intellectual property rights: protection as a means of encouraging innovation.

      The social contract of the US Constitution provides a utilitarian basis for protection of intellectual property rights.

    2. As intellectual property lacks scarcity, and the protection of it fails the Lockean Proviso, there is no natural right to intellectual property. As such, the justification for intellectual property rights arises from the social con tract, and in the case of the United States, the Constitution.

      The justification for intellectual property from the social contract established by the US Constitution; it otherwise has no justification by natural right because it fails the Lockean Proviso.

    3. As such, the conclusion is that intellectual property is not ‘property’ in the Lockean sense. If it were, then intellectual property protections would deserve no mo re policy debate than whether police ought to chase thieves. As it is not, the justification for intel lectual property must be sought in the social contract. As noted above, the social contract for the United State s, the Constitution, specifies in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 that Congress may pass laws “ To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respec t ive Writings and Discoveries.” This background clarifies the discussion considerably : • There is no natural law basis for intellectual property rights • Thus, intellectual property rights must be provided for by the social contract. • The U.S. social contract as elucidated in the Constitution specifies a utilitarian basis for intellectual property rights (“to promote the progress... by securing for limited times...")
      • There is no natural law basis for intellectual property rights

      • Intellectual property rights must be provided for by the social contract

      • The US Constitution as a social contract specifies a utilitarian basis for intellectual property rights.

    4. U.S. intellectual property law originates (as law) from the Constitution: Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution makes copyright and patent law possible (“To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: POLICY FOR INNOVATION 4   respective Writings and Discoveries”) ,

      Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 makes copyright and patent law possible.

    5. U.S. property policy remains largely fixed in its establishe d mindset of defending intellectual property rights for their own sake, instead of as a means to encourage innovation.
    6. The U.S. policy response followed an established pattern of defending intellectual property holders’ rights with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
    7. The U . S . Co nstitution firmly grounds the proper role of intellectual property policy as utilitarian .

      Identify where/how this ground is established.

  39. Aug 2013