RCFP: AP alleges copyright infringement of Obama photo

"What makes me uneasy is that it kind of suggests that anybody's photograph is fair game, even if it uses the entire image, and it remains recognizable, and it's not just used in a collage," Columbia University law professor Jane Ginsburg told The AP.  "I think that's pretty radical." 

Robin Gross, an attorney with civil liberties organization IP Justice, told the wire service she thinks Fairey was within his rights to base his painting on the photo because he meant for the work to have a political, rather than a commercial, use.

If Fairey wins this case and doesn’t have to give compensation I think there will be a lot more cases that re-open and new ones that emerge. I think The AP is right and deserves compensation because Fariey took the origninal photo and put some color in it. If he had made up his own photo it would be a different story. The fact is Fairey did not use his own original photo he used someone else’s and put his coloring into it and called it his which is not right. 

RCFP: Negative Political Ads Hurt the United States

In the article Leach argues that negative campaigning hurts Americans. He says, “In politics, there are few rules and no referees. The public must be on perpetual guard and prepared to throw flags when candidates overstep the bounds of fairness and decency. Our system of governance depends on accountability of public officials. So, a healthy regard for freedom of speech and a heavy dose of respect for the offbeat are important.” Leach also talks about how money is drug and is what allows the ads to be printed. Politicians divide voters with poorly chosen rhetoric and campaign techniques. They put fear in voters, which is not what needs to be done.

I agree with Leach when he says, “The duty of public officials is to inspire hope rather than manipulate fear. Whatever the issues, the temptation to appeal to the darker side of human nature must be avoided. The stakes are too high.” It makes me angry when I think about politicians manipulating the public and causing fear instead of hope inside voters. The job of a politician is to be the voice for the people. 

Forbes: Game, Not Gore, Keeps Video Players Playing

There are many people who believe violent video games lead to violent behavior. They University of Rochester and Immersyve Inc., conducted a study showing there is actually a deeper satisfaction that trumps violence among gamers. They found that gore and bloodiness could actually detract from gamers "fun factor." In my opinion I do not believe violence in video games cause violent behavior. I think people are predisposed to bad behavior. I think video gaming is a fun activity for most kids in America. I am curious to find more about the furthering of the study. When researchers find out what motivates people to play the violent video games it will show the games do not make violent people.