US Group: Punish Canada Over Copyright Policies

The coalition of media companies says Canada has failed to update copyright and should be sanctioned by the Bush administration. “The time has come for the United States to send a stern warning to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government, which has failed to deliver on a promised overhaul of copyright laws and a policing crackdown, said the Washington-based group that represents companies such as Microsoft, Apple and Paramount Pictures.”

Venezuela Fines Comedian For Presidential Humor

Laureano Marquez — one of Venezuela’s leading humorists — has been fined for a funny column he wrote about the country’s president Hugo Chavez. He “denies any wrongdoing and argues the $18,600 (U.S.) fine imposed on the Mosca Analfabeta publisher is part of a government initiative in which pro-Chavez prosecutors and judges are being used to silence critics. Mr. Marquez must separately pay a fine of a yet-to-be-determined amount.”

Cure For Scandal: A New “Thinker?”

Ontario’s McClaren Gallery has “unveiled a large bronze reproduction of The Thinker, Auguste Rodin’s masterpiece of manly, moody meditation, the original plaster version of which was created in 1880, 37 years before Rodin’s death… For many, The Thinker probably will serve, at least for a time, as a painful reminder of a bold, multimillion-dollar art deal gone bad — so bad, in fact, that it almost destroyed the gallery on whose corner it now sits.”

The Murky World Of Publishing Sales Numbers

Getting real sales numbers on books is almost impossible. “At a trial underway in Los Angeles pitting media mogul Philip Anschutz against author Clive Cussler. Anschutz says he bought the film rights to one of Cussler’s books because he was told it had sold 100 million copies worldwide. Because of those staggering — and bogus — figures, Anschutz maintains, he paid $10 million for the film rights. The resulting film, the 2005 ‘Sahara,’ did poorly at the box office.”

Meet The Filmanthropists

“They have deep pockets and issue-driven agendas. Rather than make high-class dramas that might carry some mild social message, these producers are turning out full-blown advocacy movies. Although their individual aims may be different, each has used a nonfiction film to shine a spotlight on social injustices, or government malfeasance, and even to recast history in the service of human uplift and national reconciliation.”

Big Surprise: Anna Nicole Dominated TV “News”

“In just two days, Smith’s demise consumed 21 percent of all programming monitored by PEJ on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel for the week – including a mind-boggling 50 percent Thursday (the day she died) and Friday. Policy debate over Iraq and the ’08 presidential race came in second and third at 15 percent and 10 percent, respectively, over the week, according to PEJ’s News Coverage Index from Feb. 4 to 9.”

A Unified Plan To Rebuild New Orleans? (Not Really)

Many have studied and thought about how to rebuild the torn city. “Their collected opinions became part of a $14 billion proposal, rolled out by planners and New Orleans officials on Jan. 29, to avert abandonment of their hurricane-shrunken home. But this long-anticipated Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP), like others before it, lacks the vision — and teeth — to save the city.”

Louvre Withdraws Cleveland Museum Loan Request

The Greek government had put pressure on the museum, saying that the Apollo statue the Louvre wanted to borrow was probably stolen. “Agence France-Presse reported in December that Greek officials had asked the Louvre not to exhibit the sculpture, saying that it was probably sold illegally after having been found in the 1990s by an Italian vessel in international waters between Italy and Greece.”