And we need SOPA/PIPA because…

Megaupload, one of the internets largest file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the US.

via BBC News – Megaupload file-sharing site shut down.

If there ever was an example of why SOPA/PIPA aren’t needed this would probably be it. That’s right, US rights holders have obtained and served warrants in far off lands and shutdown a website that operates from Hong Kong, all from their comfy seats in America.

Did anybody tell them Copyright is a Civil and NOT a Criminal Offence.

“It’s all bullshit folks and its bad for you” – George Carlin

UK inflation rate falls to 4.2% in December

The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation in the UK fell to 4.2% in December, down from 4.8% the month before, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation – which includes mortgage interest payments – fell to 4.8% from 5.2%

via BBC News – UK inflation rate falls to 4.2% in December.

A little bit of reasonable news, but a drop 0.6% is really a statistically insignificant number.

Whats wrong with SOPA in a nutshell.

All I can think is: we gave you the Internet. We gave you the Web. We gave you MP3 and MP4. We gave you e-commerce, micropayments, PayPal, Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, the iPad, the iPhone, the laptop, 3G, wifi–hell, you can even get online while youre on an AIRPLANE. What the hell more do you want from us?

Take the truck, the boat, the helicopter, that weve sent you. Dont wait for the time machine, because were never going to invent something that returns you to 1965 when copying was hard and you could treat the customers convenience with contempt.

via The Presidents challenge – OReilly Radar.

EUR2.73 TRILLION : The cost of propping up a dead donkey.

Nearly a year’s worth of anticrisis lending measures have sent the ECB’s books to a record EUR2.73 trillion, some 29% of the euro zone’s gross domestic product. This expansion, capturing both the collateral pledged by banks receiving funds from the central bank and the sovereign bonds it has purchased for its own account, has been welcomed by bond investors, who see it as a stabilizing force. But the excess liquidity bodes for a weaker euro, and has some wondering if the ECB’s own solvency could eventually be in peril.

via Swelling ECB Balance Sheet Brings Relief, Poses Risk For Euro – WSJ.com.