JLo Refuses to Answer Any Questions About Bradley Cooper

EFF Urges Court to Protect Innovation in Arista v. Lime Wire

US Fed News Service, Including US State News September 26, 2008 The Electronic Frontier Foundation issued the following news release:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a coalition of groups representing both consumers and industry filed an amicus brief today in the first major lawsuit since MGM v. Grokster against a creator of peer-to-peer (P2P) filesharing software, warning that the case has profound implications for the development of new software and hardware. web site how to use photoshop howtousephotoshopnow.net how to use photoshop

The Lime Wire lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits filed by the recording industry against peer-to-peer filesharing software companies, including past lawsuits against Grokster, Aimster, and Napster.

Joining EFF on the brief are the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the Consumer Electronics Association, the Home Recording Rights Coalition, the Information Technology Association of America, Public Knowledge, the Special Libraries Association, and the U.S. Internet Industry Association.

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Imposed solution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict possible

Winnipeg Free Press December 16, 2008 | Anonymous TEL AVIV — By tabling a joint draft United Nations Security Council resolution on Monday, the United States and Russia, with the active support of France, came close to suggesting an imposed solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In advance of the vote, which is expected this week, possibly as soon as today, the foreign ministers of the Quartet met Monday with a delegation of Arab foreign ministers to explain the motive behind this unusual move.

On two occasions in the past — the Rogers Plan in the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War and the Reagan Plan in the aftermath of the 1982 Lebanon war — the U.S. and Russia tried to impose a solution in the Middle East. They failed, either because the parties were not yet ripe for a solution, or because of Cold War considerations.

Now, however, the situation is different. Egypt and Jordan have signed peace treaties with Israel; Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Palestinians, with the assistance of the major powers, have been trying to solve their conflict with Israel; and even Syria is negotiating indirectly with Israel via Turkey. Meanwhile, the remaining Arab countries — especially Morocco and the Persian Gulf principalities — are maintaining discreet relations with Israel. website israeli palestinian conflict

Thus, the absence of an Israeli-Palestinian peace is not now a result of a refusal to negotiate, but rather a result of disagreements over the details and the nature of the peace.

This positive change from total “no” to a possible “yes” was prompted by the emergence of Shiite Iran as a regional mini-power and its renewed challenge to the predominantly Sunni countries in the Persian Gulf and the Arab world. The 2002 Saudi peace plan was a reflection of this renewed schism in the Islamic world.

The immediate goal of the new American-Russian-European initiative is to have the Security Council endorse the Annapolis Process, thus trying to force Israel and the Palestinians to implement the Quartet’s road map to peace. The U.S. now agrees to hold a follow-up peace conference in Moscow next spring. Until very recently, President George W. Bush and Israel opposed such a follow-up conference in Moscow. Bush has now withdrawn his opposition, thus leaving Israel with no choice but to eventually agree.

This change of course was prompted by the realization that the international community in the immediate future will face four major challenges:

An “unexpected” Iranian nuclear success;

A possible collapse of the moderate Palestinian Authority and its replacement by the radical Hamas group;

A possible transition of power in Israel from a moderate Kadima-Labour coalition to a more extreme Likud government, headed by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu; website israeli palestinian conflict

A possible pro-Iranian Hezbollah taking control of Lebanon as a result of the coming spring parliamentary elections.

In addition, although not in the immediate future, the U.S., Europe, Russia, Israel and the moderate Arab countries could face a crisis in Egypt, when moderate President Hosni Mubarak ends his 29-year presidency.

Guided by these concerns, the U.S., Russia and France tabled this new resolution at the Security Council, hoping to be able to impose a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the same time, France is encouraging Lebanon to start indirect peace talks with Israel, similar to the indirect Syrian-Israeli talks through Turkey. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has already raised this subject with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. Sarkozy hopes to be that intermediary. This will be one of the subjects to be discussed during Sarkozy’s visit to Beirut on Jan. 6.

Officially, Sarkozy’s visit is meant to pay a visit to the French contingent serving in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL. Israeli diplomatic sources, however, are convinced that Israeli-Lebanese relations will figure high on Sarkozy’s agenda.

If by then Syria and Lebanon exchange ambassadors, for the first time since 1943, it is possible that Sarkozy also will visit Damascus. This will be the crowning diplomatic success during this short period of his presidency.

Samuel Segev is the Winnipeg Free Press Middle East Correspondent. He is based in Tel Aviv.

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