Barry Manilow versus teenage hoodlums

BigBoss — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:42:50 +0000

The New Zealand city of Christchurch hopes that putting Barry Manilow’s smooth and gentle tones into the mix of music broadcast through the central mall district can calm teens who congregate there, or at least convince them to leave.

“The intention is to change the environment in a positive way so nobody feels threatened or intimidated,” Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale told The Associated Press. “I did not say Barry Manilow is a weapon of mass destruction.”

A group of several dozen young people regularly spread rubbish, spray graffiti, get intoxicated, use drugs, swear and intimidate patrons at the outdoor mall, he said.

The city council, police and local property owners covering 410 businesses agree that “nice, easy listening” music like Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You,” “Mandy” and other hits might change the behavior of loitering teens.

The RIAA wants to cut off your internet

BigBoss — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:02:30 +0000

The Recording Industry Association of America has announced that it is planning to end its tactics of suing individual users who are caught sharing music online. According to the Wall Street journal, the RIAA has opened legal proceedings against roughly 35,000 people since 2003, which has done little to stop the illegal downloading of music over the Internet. Instead of lawsuits, the group has instead made preliminary agreements with major ISPs under which users caught uploading music illegally will receive emails from the service provider asking them to stop, possibly accompanied by a degradation in connection speed. Should the user continue to illegally upload music, the ISP could eventually decide to cut off their access altogether. The ISPs with which the RIAA has already reached agreements have not yet been named.

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Barry Manilow versus teenage hoodlums

The RIAA wants to cut off your internet