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In dieser Krise entscheidet sich, ob eine Dekarbonisierung gelingt oder nicht – Ein Kommentar
In den politisch zerrissenen USA kämpft Trump ums Überleben, in Deutschland wird die Union favorisiert, SPD, Grüne und die AfD sind die Loser
Among the findings: apparently the archaeological record is full of dog poop.
Enlarge / Ancient poo samples: H35 (Ash pit number 35) coprolites from Xiaosungang archaeological site, Anhui Province, China. (credit: Jada Ko, courtesy of the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
Combing through samples of ancient feces probably isn't going to be many people's idea of a roaring good time. However, for archaeologists keen on learning more about the health and diet of past populations—as well as how certain parasites evolved, the evolutionary history of the microbiome—such samples can be a veritable gold mine of information.
Yet it can be difficult to determine whether fecal samples are human or were produced by other animals, particularly dogs. Now an international team of scientists has devised a new method of doing so that combines host DNA and gut microbiome analysis with open-source machine learning software, according to a new paper in the journal PeerJ.
The challenge of determining whether paleofeces and coprolites are of human or animal origin dates back to the 1970s. Usually, only those samples found with human skeletons or mummies could be designated as being of human origin with any certainty. Exceptions could be made for samples found in ancient latrines, since they are highly likely to be human; samples found in trash deposits, however, are more ambiguous.
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The Motion Picture Association sees a potential trade deal between the US and Kenya as a good opportunity to introduce more innovative and effective anti-piracy measures. Instead of simply copying the DMCA, Kenya could do better, perhaps by implementing a staydown policy and limiting safe harbors for online services.
Drom: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, torrent sites and more. We also have an annual VPN review.
For more than a decade, countries around the world have mimicked United States policies regarding copyright infringement.
The DMCA, which refers to the 1999 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, has become the standard for how rightsholders and online services deal with pirated content.
While many believe that this is still sufficient, in recent years criticism has swelled. Many prominent copyright holders believe that the DMCA is ineffective, as removed content can reappear a day later. In addition, they feel that online services use the law as a shield to profit from copyright infringements.
This critique of the DMCA has now led to a situation where some of the largest media companies advise foreign governments not to copy US copyright law. This is also the message the Motion Picture wants to send to Kenya.
In a letter, addressed to the US Trade Representative (USTR), which is currently considering a new trade deal with the African country, the movie industry group notes that exporting US copyright law might not always be a good thing.
Anissa Brennan, who’s the Senior Vice President International Affairs and Trade Policy at the MPA, stresses that simply copying the DMCA isn’t going to cut it. Instead, a trade deal should include more effective anti-piracy measures.
“With regard to online enforcement, a U.S.-Kenya agreement should include disciplines that can effectively address online piracy. This means moving away from a rote recitation of Section 512 of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act,” Brennan writes (pdf).
“Rather, we recommend moving to highlevel language that reflects the fundamental principles of the DMCA. Such an approach would be fully consistent with U.S. law and create some policy space for Kenya to be innovative in its approach to online piracy.”
Or put differently, the MPA wants Kenya to implement copyright legislation that’s more strict or effective than the US has in place.
What the more ‘innovative’ approach looks like isn’t explained in detail. However, the Hollywood group previously advocated in favor of “staydown” policies, where online services have to make sure that infringing content or links don’t resurface.
In addition, the MPA also argued in favor of ‘proactive’ measures against infringing content, which hints at upload filters. At the same time, legislation should make it easier to hold online services liable for infringing users, instead of offering the DMCA’s broad ‘safe harbor’ protections.
The MPA has lobbied US lawmakers for similar changes. While Congress is currently reviewing the DMCA, no concrete changes have been suggested yet. With their letter, the MPA suggests that Kenya could be a pioneer in this area.
While the DMCA is no longer seen as sufficient, the MPA does urge the African country to implement another US copyright policy that has become a global standard. That is, a copyright term of the author’s life plus 70 years, which is substantially longer than the current 50-year term.
“A U.S.-Kenya agreement should reflect the global consensus on term of protection for copyrighted works which is life of the author plus 70 years and a comparable term for works measured by date of publication,” the MPA writes.
In addition, there are various other proposed changes, including statutory damages for copyright infringement, as well as the option to issue injunctions against third-party services in copyright lawsuits.
Whether any of these changes will make their way into potential new trade agreements remains to be seen. During the negotiation phase of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement there were also repeated calls not to copy the DMCA language, but those proved to be unsuccessful.
Drom: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, torrent sites and more. We also have an annual VPN review.
Das Jahr 2020 und die Utopie III
Ein gefährliches Virus – ein kurzer Nachtrag
We’re all at home in front of a screen more these days. How are those watchlists doing?
Sure, CES 2009 had a remote controlled beer koozie and an indoor duck hunting game, but CES 2010 brought us TV Hat: "The hat holds your iPhone or iPod Touch in front of your face, with a lens between your eyes and the screen giving things some magnification. We're sorry we didn't grab a few for the plane ride home." (credit: Ars Staff)
Choice paralysis is real and the only evidence we need sits a click or two away. Maybe the cord cutting era has largely done away with the act of channel surfing, but many of us rack up an equally large amount of idling time these days. Rather than clicking from PBS through TNT, instead we're perusing what's available on various streaming services and saving the interesting stuff to our lists. Once something hits that list, of course, there's no guarantee it'll ever get watched anyway (perhaps making channel surfing more productive in retrospect).
But, like seemingly everything, our viewing habits and rituals have changed drastically in the last month as society settles into its temporary, at-home COVID-19 reality. Around Ars, some of us have taken advantage of the extra time in proximity of a screen and hit "play" on the stuff that's forever been "eh, I'll watch it next time." Others face new realities from ever-present kids to newly shared selection duties that make us regret never revisiting those queued up films and shows beforehand.
All of us, however, undoubtedly have more time to think about how our streaming queues have been affected. These are those stories (Law & Order: SVU marathons not yet included).
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Verratene Verräter greifen in die S……
Mit dem Velvet will LG weg vom bisherigen Design und den Bezeichnungen seiner Smartphones – und setzt dabei nicht auf Qualcomms Snapdragon 865. (LG, Smartphone)
Mit dem Velvet will LG weg vom bisherigen Design und den Bezeichnungen seiner Smartphones - und setzt dabei nicht auf Qualcomms Snapdragon 865. (LG, Smartphone) 
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