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FBI training includes anti-Islam indoctrination

From Wired, here’s what the FBI teaches its counterterrorism agents about the average Muslim:

The stated purpose of one [briefing], about allegedly religious-sanctioned lying, is to “identify the elements of verbal deception in Islam and their impacts on Law Enforcement.” Not “terrorism.” Not even “Islamist extremism.” Islam.

Pretty un-American indoctrination in a federal agency whose motto is, “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity.” Read the full article at Wired

Google ending experimental “labs” offerings

While we’ve learned a huge amount by launching very early prototypes in Labs, we believe that greater focus is crucial if we’re to make the most of the extraordinary opportunities ahead.

Translation: “We need to leave ‘release early, release often’ behind.”

I wonder if it’s because they catch too much flak for exposing prerelease features to the public, or because they’re trying to adopt a more holistic approach to their product cycles.

via Official Google Blog: More wood behind fewer arrows.

Music, movie, and software piracy is a market failure, not a legal one

This comes as no surprise. From Michael Geist, University of Ottawa Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law:

Trademark and copyright holders frequently characterize piracy as a legal failure, arguing that tougher laws and increased enforcement are needed to stem infringing activity. But a new global study on piracy, backed by Canada’s International Development Research Centre, comes to a different conclusion. Following several years of independent investigation in six emerging economies, the report concludes that piracy is chiefly a product of a market failure, not a legal one.

Read more about the 400-page report commissioned by the Canadian government at thestar.com .