Broncomaniacs OK, Occupiers a threat

Commentary by Phil Goodstein

The latest Bronco hoopla might be the very worst since the beginning of Broncomania. As much as ever, this is the religion of ruling Denver. The level of hype for a most insubstantial team and topic is a reflection on the essential character of the community. The real issue is to what degree is this completely manufactured and how much is actually popular emotion.

Of course, if the newspapers/television gave Bronco games all the attention they do to symphony concerts, there would be minimal interest. But then if there were nonstop news about concerts, the hall would be packed and the musicians would be celebrities. As it is, the overwhelming defeat of the Broncos was good news. It kept us from being barraged with even more of this. Meanwhile, if budget cuts are urgent, where the does the money come from for the city-sponsored football hoopla?

Football frenzy is not limited to Denver or the Broncos. It is part of our culture. Still, it is also a reflecting of ruling class values. Nobody more revealed this than Richard Nixon. First, during mass anti-war protests, he announced he was ignoring them for watching football. Then, when he actually sought to meet protesters, instead of discussing the war, he talked about football. This is what Nixon and his ilk know and can discuss.

This reflects also on the Occupy movement. It is something that so upsets the system because esblishment powers cannot understand the Occupy movement in the slightest. Besides, we need the occupiers out of the Civic Center so we can have football rallies.

One last consideration: On Martin Luther King Day, the Denver Post had a good picture of the police staring down protesters in the 1960s. Of course, the paper did not note the difference of today. The current police would have on riot gear. If the Occupiers are so dangerous as to force the police to wear riot gear, why are not the police in riot gear at Bronco games and football rallies? The drunken football crowds are far more violent than any of the protesters.

But saying this is banal. The fact that it is not even said or asked is typical of the censorship of our times.

Occupy Denver Solidarity with Oakland Tonight

Tonight - Sunday 1/29/12, 7:00pm, Civic Center Park, after more than 400 arrests last night in Oakland.

Live streaming now at Occupy Oakland

Occupy Oakland riot here now - 4:17 pm Denver time.

4:21 here come the fuzz

4:34 cops running towards protesters

8:27pm OPD haas kettled over 100 protesters in front of YMCA and are bringing in buses to take them away. Occupy Oakland Live has a cool night-vision live stream. Over 4700 people watching online

8:46pm Helicopter shot of city hall arrests being made.

Now this is just dumb, and a waste of time and money

Denver Recycles Presents:

“I HEART My Purple Recycling Cart” Photo Contest

Submit a photo showing your love of recycling in the Mile High City!

 

DENVER, CO ­— January 27, 2012 — As Valentine’s Day approaches, Mayor Michael B. Hancock and Denver Public Works’ Denver Recycles announces a way for residents to “show their love” for recycling with the “I Heart My Purple Recycling Cart” photo contest. Denver residents are encouraged to submit creative photos showing their support for, and love of, recycling; however submissions must share a common theme: all photos must include the signature Denver “purple recycling cart.”

 

With more than 111,000 households choosing to “Go Purple” by recycling paper, bottles, containers, cans, etc., everyday, it is clear that Denver loves to recycle. Now it is your chance to show how much you love your purple recycling cart by submitting a photo that captures this love and creatively shows how your household recycles.

 

Mayor Hancock, Denver Public Works Manager George Delaney and Denver Recycles Operations Manager Charlotte Pitt will select a first, second and third place winner, and the best submittal under 13 years old.  Prizes include four tickets to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, four tickets to Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance (theatre tickets are courtesy of Arts and Venues Denver), Colorado Avalanche tickets and a ParkSmart Denver gift card.

 

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO:

1.    Email your digital photo to DenverRecycles@DenverGov.org by noon, Tuesday, February 14^th

2.    Include your name, phone number and home address in your email

3.    Photos must include your Denver Recycles purple cart, without any permanent markings on it (no stickers, no spray paint, etc.)

4.    Photo should illustrate your appreciation for your purple recycling cart, how or what you recycle at home, etc.  

5.    Digital photo should be a minimum of 500 KB and a maximum of 1000 KB

6.    One photo per household

 

Please note that by submitting your photos you are giving the City and County of Denver permission to post them on Facebook, websites and in other promotional and printed materials. Winners will be notified through their submittal email on February 14, 2012. Also, City and County of Denver employees are not eligible to win prizes, but are welcome to submit photos.

 

Now that's just crazy! YouTube ad scam?

Did you see the video I posted of the MLK marade?



Shortly after posting, I received this notice from YouTube:


Copyright Info: The Complete 2012 MLK Marade

Your video, The Complete 2012 MLK Marade , may include content that is owned or administered by this entity:

• Entity: Music Publishing Rights Collecting Society Content Type: Musical Composition

What should I do?

No action is required on your part. Your video is still available worldwide. In some cases ads may appear next to your video.

What can I do about my video's status?

Please note that the video's status can change, if the policies chosen by the content owners change. You may want to check back periodically to see if you have new options available to you.

Under certain circumstances, you may dispute this copyright claim. These are:

• if the content is mistakenly identified and is actually completely your original creation;
• if you believe your use does not infringe copyright (e.g. it is fair use under US law);
• if you are actually licensed by the owner to use this content.

I need more information. I want to learn more about the dispute process.

Please take a few minutes to visit our Help Center section on Policy and Copyright Guidelines, where you can learn more about copyright law and our Content Identification Service.

A Google search revealed:

"It's not so much a claim against your video per se; it's a notification that royalties are being collected on behalf of the original artist.
This has nothing to do with not getting permission -- that's a separate issue. Basically, royalties are payable on any public performance of any music registered with the appropriate collecting societies. In other words, if you write a song and somebody gets up on stage and performs it (even a cover), or broadcasts it in a video, or whatever, you can claim royalty payments. You're being compensated for the fact that it was all your work, but somebody else is being paid for it.
This mysterious "Music Publishing Rights Collecting Society" isn't one organisation: it's a generic term for all collecting societies, which collect and distribute money on behalf of artists -- organisations like ACAP and BMI in the US, PRS for Music in the UK, GEMA in Germany and so on.
You don't need to worry about anything, because you're not the one having to pay royalties -- it's YouTube, who have to buy broadcasting licences in different countries in order to be allowed to broadcast music. The "claim" is merely a notification that this is happening. Similarly, if you are at a karaoke bar as a performer, you don't have to worry about royalties and such: that will have been taken care of on your behalf by the owners of the venue or the organisers of the event, who will have had to have bought a licence.
That said, if your video contains any third party material at all, including cover versions (a capella or not), you actually still do need the permission of the copyright owners, quite separate from the issue of royalty payments. If you do not have this permission, then that is a possible case of copyright infringement, and the copyright owners then have the legal right, if they so wish, to order YouTube to take your video down. It doesn't matter if you credit the author or write a disclaimer or make no money from it: it's very likely copyright infringement if you don't get permission (the YouTube Help Center has a whole section devoted to copyright issues).
So, in short, there are two related, but different, issues here:
Copyright: You must get the permission of the original creator of the work you are using before you upload.
Royalty payments: If the original song is registered with a collecting society, royalties on all performances are likely due -- but this is taken care of by YouTube."

I haven't identified anything in the video that might be the culprit. Can you? Comments appreciated. Further reading here.

Update: After posting the above, I continued to research the question and found this Facebook page.
It sure looks like a fake to me. Putting an ad next to your video is the punishment? Reading the 79 comments, I found the suggestion that anyone receiving the notice should go ahead and dispute the claim. That's what I did - clicked through a form and submitted my challenge to the claim to YouTube. To my amazement, the notice next to my video DISAPPEARED WITHIN 30 SECONDS. Gone, gone.
So YouTube sends you a notice of possible copyright infringement and the punishment is that THEY PUT AN AD NEXT TO IT?? Smells like a scam to me. Try disputing it and see if your notice disappears. Please comment.

Occupy Denver livestream at 10:00 am this morning from

Live streaming video here from Obama's visit to Aurora.

Things that make you go hmmm...

(click below to go to article on King World News)
With gold and silver exploding to the upside on the Fed announcement, today King World News interviewed legendary Jim Sinclair, to get his take on where things are headed.  Sinclair told KWN he now expects mainstream entities to enter the gold market.  Here is what Sinclair had to say:  “Today is an important day.  There are many days we talk but this is a mile-marker.  What the Fed did today.  what the Fed did today is they turned on the light of what will be QE to infinity.  Today the light went on with regards to the intentions of the Fed.  They did that for very specific reasons, we have troubles people can’t see and this is one of the ways out.”

Another Inmate for the Denver Zoo

The latest "Toyota" elephant added to the animal prison, aka Denver Zoo, (see story here) and earlier blog post here.

Denver Zoo/Charlotte Bassin

Additional opinion here.

The Earth is Currently Being Hit by a Large Solar Flare

3:38 pm - Watch it live via the Aurora Borealis in Sweden here.

New American car purchase becomes adventure

By Dave Felice

Buying an automobile in Michigan isn't much different than in Colorado, but purchasing Chevrolet's newest model where the cars are built adds an interesting and intriguing dimension to getting a new car. And the people who make Chevrolet Sonic are as pleased to be producing the car as I am to own one.

Using advanced techniques and some of the world's largest robotic equipment, members of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 5960 produce the Sonic subcompact hatchback and sedans, along with a new Buick small car, at the General Motors Orion Assembly Center. The huge production plant is set amid rolling hills and lakes between Detroit and Flint, in the town of Lake Orion (OR-ee-uhn).

I read of GM’s plans for Sonic earlier in the year and was waiting for production to begin. Since I would have needed to order the car for delivery in Denver anyway, I decided to make the trip to Michigan. I ordered a crystal-red Sonic LT hatchback with automatic transmission. I picked up the car at the (Wally Edgar) dealership, less than a mile from the production facility, then drove 1550 miles back to Denver.

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