Did Obama Violate Copyright Law With iPod Gift?

President Barack Obama gave Queen Elizabeth II an iPod on Thursday with some 40 Broadway songs from popular musicals like West Side Story and the King and I.

Yet convoluted U.S. copyright laws make it unclear whether the chief executive is a copyright scofflaw. Fred von Lohmann, a copyright expert at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, explains:

“You know your copyright laws are broken when there is no easy answer to this question,” he wrote.

Read his Thursday blog post here.

Protesters take to the streets of London

Ahead of the G-20 meeting of world leaders, the largely peaceful protests against unchecked capitalism, war, destruction of the environment and other ills are a sign of the populist anger in Europe.

Global Economic Slide May Be Easing as G-20 Gathers

 

   

April 2 (Bloomberg) — Leaders of the most powerful nations meet today amid signs that the world economy is stabilizing after months of freefall.

The Group of 20 summit convenes in London as some reports suggest the pace of decline is easing. U.S. durable-goods orders and home sales rose in February, Chinese urban investment surged 26.5 percent in the first two months of the year, and German investor confidence in March reached its highest level since July 2007. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index last month rallied the most in seven years.

What Did You Think of Obama’s News Conference?

 

              

In his second prime-time televised news conference, President Barack Obama on Tuesday night emphasized he has had to make a lot of important decisions just two months into the job, but none of them have been rash.

This theme of cautious action was driven home when CNN’s Ed Henry pressed the president on why it took the White House two days to comment on the shocking revelation that AIG executives had received large bonuses. “It took me a couple of days because I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak,” he replied pointedly.

Peace conference ‘postponed’ after Dalai Lama refused visa

 

A conference celebrating South Africa’s emergence as a multi-racial society after decades of white minority rule has been called off after the Pretoria government refused to give a visa to a principal guest, Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

The peace conference bringing together South African Nobel Peace Prize laureates and international advocates of peaceful reform was due to be held in Johannesburg on Friday as a prelude to South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup of soccer next year.

West ‘lacks information about Tibet’

TORONTO: Independence for Tibet can never be accepted, but talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama could resume “at any time” if the political exile gives up his separatist stance, a visiting living Buddha from the autonomous region said over the weekend.

“The door remains open and talks could resume at any time if the Dalai Lama meets the requirements of the central government,” said Shingtsa Tenzinchodrak, head of a delegation of five Tibetan National People’s Congress (NPC) deputies to North America, while addressing local media and overseas Chinese.

China “opposes any platform” for Dalai Lama’s secessionist activity

                    

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) — China opposes the government of any other country providing support or a platform for the Dalai Lama’s secessionist activity, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular press conference here Tuesday.

    Responding to questions on the South African government’s refusal of a visa to the Dalai Lama, Qin said: “China applauds the position of those countries that respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, adhere to the one-China policy and oppose the independence of Tibet.”