A threat to all users of the World Wide Web is growing and it could catch all of us by surprise. The European Parliament is considering a change in copyright law that could impact hundreds of millions of websites. The same copyright changes have been suggested in the U.S. as well.
It’s called ‘ancillary copyright.’ Boiled down to basics, it means that websites violate international copyright law if they provide hyperlinks to other websites. In other words, if I give you a link to a publication that exposes a horrible HOA story somewhere I violate that publication’s copyright. The reasoning is horrible.
Many people who read NeighborsAtWar.com each night provide links to my website to their respective email lists. My readership always goes up on those days, so I don’t object to anyone linking to an interesting post on this blog. In face, I encourage everyone to do so. I will NEVER claim that you violated my copyright even if I say something embarrassingly stupid, which I sometimes do. But a growing number of national and international organizations are demanding that the act of providing hyperlinks be criminalized.
The reasoning is nuts. The ultimate result will be that hundreds of millions of websites will simply have to shut down. It’s a huge muzzle on free speech and free access to information. News aggregators like Drudge, Breitbart, and Huffington Post will simply have to quit doing business. Our lives and our free access to information have been remarkably improved since the invention of the World Wide Web and hyperlinks. But free access to information threatens many in the establishment.
Our anti-HOA movement is growing exponentially because we’re all able to share stories about the huge scam known as the Homeowners Association Movement. Fight this suppression of Free Speech whenever and wherever it occurs.
On this blog we talk a lot about bad management companies. Tonight, I want to talk about a great one! Mine.
I’ve worked with Dave Watts of ForRentByOwner for nearly 17 years. It’s been a relationship that hasn’t had single hitch in all those years. He’s great, his employees are great. The reason I bring this up is that just yesterday I voiced a promo that he’s entering into a bank contest. It’s cute.
Hollywood is a place of extremes, so it’s really tough to figure out who the absolute worst neighbor is. But we may have finally succeeded. At the same time, I kind of like the guy.
He’s the son of a former beer salesman. How he got the money to buy four mansions in the Hollywood Hills and connect them into one giant home is amazing. Even comprehending it is way above my pay grade.
But his neighbors have filed 95 police complaints against his partying. He’d be glad to sell to anyone who has 50 million dollars to throw around. But his home is fabulous, and he rents it out for hip hop parties that apparently have to be seen to be believed.
Now, I’m going to post the link, below, to the Hollywood Reporter story. But skip the story and watch the Danny Fitzgerald video about halfway down. You might end up liking the guy, too!
There’s no other word to describe it. As the husband of a severely handicapped woman, I seethe with anger whenever I see abuse of the elderly, or abuse of the handicapped.
A lawsuit has just been filed in Las Vegas, Nevada by two handicapped elderly women, both military veterans, who are being hounded out of their HOA because they bought a van to accommodate their respective disabilities.
Illegal Handicap Van
Board members of the Spanish Steps Lakeside – Park View Estates Homeowners Association have decided the van used by the women is an illegal commercial vehicle despite the fact that it has handicap placards. The women have endured two years of threats, fines, liens and lawsuits.
Is the Americans with Disabilities Act not written in clear enough language for HOA bullies to understand? I guess once you’re elected as a gorilla on the HOA board, your DNA actually undergoes changes. At any rate, the lawsuit linked below is worth reading.
